■400 



ZO(jLO<tY 



ii;il:)it of laying their eggs in the nests of other birds, espe- 

 ciallj' insectivorous birds, where they are brooded and tlie j'oung 



are fed by the foster- 

 mother. Our native 

 cucl<:oo, however, broods 

 its own eggs, and is a 

 useful insectivorous bird. 

 The kingfishers are also 

 placed in this group. 

 They are especiallj' an 

 Old-world famil}', but 

 one genus (Ceryle) has 

 found its waj' into the 

 Americas. These Ijirds 

 feed chiefly on fish, and 

 they have gained a com- 

 pact, oil}' plumage to 

 prevent them from get- 

 ting wet when they 

 plunge for their prey. 

 Our species is known as 

 the lielted kingfisher 

 (Fig. 366). 



The woodpeckers, or 

 Pici, include for the 

 most part arboreal birds which feed chiefly on insects, 

 and have loufl, harsh cries. The common idea that they 

 arc sap-suckers and destructive to trees seems to be true 

 only of one of our six'ci(\s — the yellow-bellied wood- 

 ]>ecker. The heavy, long bill enables woodpeckers to 

 peck holes in trees for wood-eating insects, and the long, 



^0^ 



Fig. 



- Flifker (Colaptcs mirnttis). 



