WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 217 



ture and horticulture. These birds destroy immense num- 

 bers of caterpillars, moths, and beetles, hence are among 

 our most useful birds. Birds of retiring habits, living chiefly 

 in thickly foliaged bushes or trees, they are seldom seen 

 perching on the outside branches. Like our woodpeckers, 

 two toes extend forward and two backward. The flight is 

 swift, horizontal, and rapid. The tails are long and lightly 

 colored at the tips, the outside tail feathers being decidedly 

 the shortest. 



Like our flycatchers, they appear from the South when 

 the verdure has matured, and depart from their summer 

 habitats before we have experienced our first cold weather. 

 In September and October it is silent and suddenly dis- 

 appears. 



The notes are a series of low tones uttered while the 

 bird is at rest or flying from one tree to another. They 

 might be described as " chow-chow-chow-chow," with greater 

 emphasis on the last two syllables. 



The nest are of grass and twigs with a lining of dead 

 leaves and grass, usually built in a crotch or on a horizon- 

 tal limb, sometimes in a low shrub, not to exceed three feet 

 from the ground. Orchards, second growth, and bushy pas- 

 tures are favorite sites. 



Two to five light blue eggs are laid in May or June. 

 Several days may elapse between the time of laying one egg 

 and the next one. As the parent begins incubation with 

 the first egg, nests are often found containing both young 

 and eggs. Sometimes the two species deposit their eggs in 

 the same nest. The eggs of the black-billed cuckoo are 

 slightly smaller and darker than those of the yellow-billed. 



