190 



CUCULID^, CUCKOOS. GEN. 128. 



. Four or five genera, and perhaps twenty species ; none parasitic. Ours are strictly 

 arboricole birds of litlie form, blended plumage and subdued colors ; the head is 

 not crested ; the tibial feathers are full, as in a hawk ; the sexes are alike, and the 

 j'oung scarcely ditt'erent. In the following, the upper parts are uniform satiny 

 olive-grajr, or " quaker color," with bronzy reflections. Migrator}', insectivorous ; 

 lay plain greenish eggs, in a rude nest of twigs saddled on a branch or in a fork. 

 They are well known inhabitants of our streets and parks as well as of woodland, 

 noted for their loud jerky cries, which they are supposed to utter most frequently in 

 falling weather, whence their popular name, " rain crow." 



x«^ 



i{^ 



7^' 



,■, 128. Genus COCCYZUS Vieillot. 



BlacJc-hilled Ouclcoo. Bill blackish except occasionally a trace of yellow- 

 ish below. Below, pure white, sometimes with a faint tawny tinge on the 

 fore parts. Wings with little or no rufous. Lateral tail feathers not con- 

 trasting with the central, their tips for a short distance blackish, then 

 obscurely white. Bare circumocular s^jace red. Length 11-12 ; wing 5-5^ ; 

 tail 6-6J ; bill under an inch. Eastern U. S. and Canada. AVils., iv, 16, pi. 

 28; NuTT., i, 556; Add., iv, 300, pi. 276; Bd., 77. erytiiropiithalmus. 

 YeUoiv-hilled Cuckoo. Bill extensively yellow below and on the sides. 

 Below, pure white. Wings extensively cinnamon-rufous on inner webs of 



the quills. Central tail feathers 

 like the back, the rest black with 

 large white tips, the outermost 

 usually also edged with white. Size 

 of the last. United States, rather 

 more southerly than the last species, 

 and chiefly Eastern ; also, Pacitic 

 Coast {Oooj)er, JSIuttall). WiLS., 

 iv, 13, pi. 28; Nutt., i, 551; 

 AuD., iv, 293, pi. 275; Bd., 76; 

 Coop., 371. . . . americanus. 

 Mangrove Cuckoo. Bill much as 

 in the last. Below, pale orange- 

 brown. Auriculars dark, in contrast. Tail as in the last, but outer feathers 

 not white-edged. Size of the others, or rather less. West Indies and 

 Florida. Nutt., i, 558; AuD.,iv, 303; pi. 277 ; Bd., 78. . seniculus. 



ycUow-biUcd Cuckoo. 



/ 



Suborder PICI. Plciform Birds. 

 See p. 179 for characters of this suborder. 



Family PICIDJE. Woodpeckers. 



These birds have been specially studied, with more or less gratifying success, by 

 INIalherbc, Sundevall and Cassin. There arc nearly two hundred and fifty well 

 determined species, of all parts of the world except Madagascar, Australia and 

 Polynesia. Their separation into minor groups has not been agreed upon ; our 



