20 LIFE HISTOEIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Dominion of Canada; and it also breeds on a number of the West India Islands, 

 but in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and in the extreme western parts of Texas 

 it is replaced by the California Cuckoo during this time. It is a moderately 

 common bird in suitable localities throughout the greater part of its range in the 

 United States, excepting along our northern border, but on account of its shy 

 and retiring ways it is much more frequently heard than seen; it is only a 

 summer visitor throughout the greater portions of its range in the United States, 

 excepting Florida and parts of the Gulf coast, where some of these birds are 

 known to winter, but by far the greater number retire still farther south to the 

 West India Islands, and others through eastern Mexico, as far as Costa Rica. 

 The Yellow-billed Cuckoo visually arrives in the Northern States about the 

 commencement of May, and remains there until the end of September or the 

 early part of October. It is decidedly arboreal in its habits, and is rarely seen 

 on the ground, where, on account of its short and weak feet, its movements are 

 rather awkward; but on the wing it is exceedingly graceful; its flight is noiseless 

 and swift, and it moves or rather glides through the densest foliage with the 

 greatest ease, now flying sidewise, and again twisting and doubling at right 

 angles through the thickest shrubbery almost as easily as if passing through 

 unobstructed space, its long tail assisting it very materially in all its complicated 

 movements. Few of our birds show to better advantage on the wing than the 

 Yellow-billed Cuckoo. It rarely indulges in protracted flights on its breeding 

 grounds, but keeps mostly in the shadiest trees, in dense thickets along water 

 courses, or on small islands, shrubbery bordering country roads, the outskirts 

 of forests, and were it not for its peculiar call notes, which draw attention to its 

 whereabouts at once, it would be much less frequently seen than it usually is, 

 even where fairly common; on the whole, it must be considered as a rather shy, 

 retiring, and suspicious bird. 



Its call notes are much more varied than is generally supposed, but it is 

 impossible to positively distinguish them from those of its somewhat smaller 

 relative, the Black-billed Cuckoo, which is likewise found throughout a consider- 

 able portion of its range, and it is extremely difficult to indicate these notes on 

 paper. On the whole, I consider those of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo to be the 

 louder of the two, but this is only a matter of opinion, and it is rather difficult 

 to state just what difference exists between them. One of their commonest notes 

 is a low "noo-coo-coo-coo;" another sounds more like "cow-cow-cow" or "kow- 

 kow-kow," several times repeated; others resemble the syllables of "ough, ough, 

 ough," slowly and softly uttered; some remind me of the "kloop-kloop" of the 

 Bittern; occasionally a note something like the "kiuh-kiuh-kiuh" of the Flicker 

 is also uttered; a low, sharp "tou-wity-whit" and "hweet hwee" is also heard 

 during the nesting season. Though ordinarily not what might be called a 

 social bird, I have sometimes during the mating season seen as many as eight 

 in the same tree, and on such occasions they indulge in quite a number of calls, 

 and if the listener can only keep still long enough he has an excellent oppor- 

 tunity to hear a regular Cuckoo concert. 



