io6 cassell's book of birds. 



assists the natives in their search for the combs by flying before them and constantly uttering its sharp, 

 peculiar cry. In the African deserts it is heard morning and evening, and is eagerly listened for 

 by the natives, who at once reply to it, and hasten to the spot indicated. No sooner does the bird 

 perceive that its summons is responded to than it perches upon the tree that contains the desired 

 hive, and, should its human assistant not hurry fast enough to satisfy its impatience, flies backwards 

 and forwards until the exact spot has been plainly pointed out. During the time occupied by the 

 native in rifling the hive, the Honey Guide remains perched in the vicinity, waiting for the share 

 of the spoil, which the grateful Hottentot never fails to grant it. This remarkable habit is of great 

 service to the poor natives, who regard these birds with especial favour, and are much incensed if 

 they are wantonly killed. According to Hartlaub, the female deposits her one glossy white egg 

 upon the bare ground, and when she has succeeded in finding a strange nest into which it can be 

 introduced, bears it thither, having previously ejected one of the owner's eggs in order to make 

 room for her own offspring. Verreau.x informs us that the mother resumes the care of her young in 

 about a month's time, compelling it to leave its foster-parents. 



The CUCKOOS {Cuculus) are characterised by a slightly-curved, thin beak, which is broad 

 at its base, and almost equals the head in length; the long wings, in which the third quill is 

 longer than the rest, are narrow and pointed ; the long tail, composed of ten feathers, is either 

 wedge-shaped or rounded at its extremity. The short or moderate-sized feet have the toes placed in 

 pairs ; the thick plumage is very similarly coloured in the two sexes, but the young differ considerably 

 in appearance from the adult birds. 



The members of this family are spread over the whole of the Eastern Hemisphere and New 

 Holland, being particularly numerous in Africa and India, while the more northern portions possess 

 but one species. All, without exception, are inhabitants of the woods, and rarely leave the shelter 

 of their favourite trees, except during the period of migration, or when, as with the more southern 

 species, they are wandering for a short season over the face of the country. In disposition they 

 are timorous, restless, and extremely averse to associate with other birds, indeed, they frequently 

 avoid the society of their own congeners. Their life may be described as an incessant and noisy 

 search for food, in pursuit of which they hurry rapidly from tree to tree and place to place. Insects 

 and larvae afford them their principal means of subsistence, and hairy caterpillars (avoided by most 

 other birds) are with them favourite tid-bits — the hairs from the bodies of these caterpillars adhere 

 to the coats of the Cuckoo's stomach, and become, as it were, embedded by the process of digestion. 

 Many also consume small reptiles. Some species prepare suitable receptacles for their young ; but 

 the greater number deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds. 



THE COMMON CUCKOO. 

 The Common Cuckoo {Cuculus canorus) represents a group possessing a slender body, a small, 

 weak, slightly-curved beak, long, pointed \vings, a long, rounded tail, short, partially-feathered feet, 

 and plumage of a sombre hue. The male is deep ash-grey, or greyish blue, on the mantle, and 

 greyish white, marked with black, on the under side ; the neck, cheeks, throat, and the sides of the 

 neck, as far down as the breast, are pure ash-grey ; the quills of the wings leaden black, and those 

 of the tail black, spotted with white. The eye is of a bright yellow ; the beak black, but yellowish 

 towards its base ; and the foot yellow. The female resembles the male, but has scarcely perceptible 

 reddish stripes on the back and under side of the neck. The length of the male is fourteen inches ; 

 breadth twenty-four and a half ; length of wing, nine inches ; length of tail, seven and three-quarter 

 inches. The female is about an inch shorter. 



