310 CUCKOO. Class II. 



Descrip- The weight of the cuckoo is a little more than 

 five ounces; the length is fourteen inches; the 

 breadth twenty-five. The bill black, very strong, 

 a little incurvated, and about two-thirds of an 

 inch long ; the irides are yellow. The head, hind 

 part of the neck, the coverts of the wings, and 

 the rump, are of a dove color ; darker on the 

 head and paler on the rump. The throat and 

 upper part of the neck are of a pale grey ; the 

 breast and belly white, crossed elegantly Avith 

 undulated lines of black ; the vent feathers are 

 of a buff color, marked with a few dusky spots. 

 The wings are very long, reaching within an 

 . ' inch and a half of the end of the tail ; the first 

 quil feather is three inches shorter than the 

 others ; all are dusky, and their inner webs 

 are barred with large oval white spots. The 

 tail consists of ten feathers of unequal lengths 

 like those of the butcher bird : the two middle 

 are black tipt with white ; the others are marked 

 with white spots on each side their shafts. The 

 legs are short, and the toes disposed two back- 

 wards and two forwards like the woodpecker, 

 though it is never observed to run up the sides 

 Female, of trees. The female differs in some respects ; 

 the neck before and behind is of a brownish 

 red ; the tail barred with the same color and 

 black, and spotted on each side the shaft with 



