YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 10 



shades of the forests, and intimate their presence by the frequent repeti- 

 tion of their dull and unmusical notes, which are not vmlike those of the 

 young Bull-Frog. These notes may be represented by the word cow^ 

 coxo, repeated eight or ten times with increasing rapidity. In fact, from 

 the resemblance of its notes to that word, this Cuckoo is named Cow 

 Bird in nearly every part of the Union. The Dutch farmers of Penn- 

 sylvania know it better by the name of Rain Crow, and in Louisiana 

 the French settlers call it Coitcou. 



It robs smaller birds of their eggs, which it sucks on aU occasions, and 

 is cowardly and shy, without being vigilant. On this latter account, it 

 often falls a prey to several species of Hawks, of which the Pigeon 

 Hawk {Falco columbarms) may be considered as its most dangerous 

 enemy. It prefers the Southern States for its residence, and when very 

 mild winters occur in Louisiana, some individuals remain there, not find- 

 ing it necessary to go farther south. 



This bird is not abundant anywhere, and yet is found very far north. 

 I have met with it in all the low grounds and damp places in Massachu- 

 sets, along the line of Upper Canada, pretty high on the Mississippi and 

 Arkansas, and in every state between these boundary lines. Its appear- 

 ance in the State of New York seldom takes place before the beginning 

 of May, and at Green Bay not until the middle of that month. A pair 

 here and there seem to appropriate certain tracts to themselves, where 

 they rear their young in the midst of peace and plenty. They feed on 

 insects, such as caterpillars and butterflies, as well as on berries of many 

 kinds, evincing a special predilection for the mulberry. In autumn they 

 eat many grapes, and I have seen them supporting themselves by a mo- 

 mentary motion of their wings opposite a bunch, as if selecting the ripest, 

 when they would seize it and return to a branch, repeating their visits in 

 this manner until satiated. They now and then descend to the ground, 

 to pick up a wood-snail or a beetle. They are extremely awkward at 

 walking, and move in an ambUng manner, or leap along sidewise, for 

 which the shortness of their legs is ample excuse. They are seldom seen 

 perched conspicuously on a twig, but on the contrary are generally to be 

 found amongst the thickest boughs and foliage, where they emit their 

 notes until late in autumn, at which time they discontinue them. 



The nest is simple, flat, composed of a few dry sticks and grass, form- 

 ed much like that of the Common Dove, and, like it, fastened to a hoi-i- 



zontal branch, often within the reach of man, who seldom disturbs it. 



B 2 



