Parrots, Cuckoos, and Plantain-eaters 



497 



alike, resemble the parents, and are black 

 likewise. With the cuckoo the case is 

 different. The male and female are 

 conspicuously different in coloration, the 

 former being black, the latter brown. In 

 such cases it is the rule for the yount^ 

 to wear the livery of the female. If this 

 rule were adhered to in the case of the 

 cuckoo, destruction would be more than 

 probable, for the mynas would as likelv 

 as not destroy so outrageous a departure 

 from myna custom as a brown youno-ster. 

 But the koel has proved equal to the occa- 

 sion, by the simple expedient of attiring 

 the young in the male instead of the 

 female livery. Later on in life the rule 

 for the exchange of plumage is reversed, 

 and the young female doffs the temporary 

 black dress of the male for the brown 

 one of the adult female, instead of vice 

 versa. 



All cuckoos, however, are not para- 

 sitic, the species known as Laek-heeled 

 Cuckoos — from the presence of a lontr, 

 spine-like claw on the hind toe — building 

 a nest and hatching their own eggs. 

 They have a wide range, being found in 

 Africa from Egypt to Cape Colony, Mada- 

 gascar, India, China, New Guinea, and 

 Australia. 



As a rule, the Cuckoos are not 

 consjDicuously coloured, but some species 

 are clad in a livery resplendent with 

 metallic colours. These are represented by the Indian and Australian Bronze Cuckoos and 

 the African Golden Cuckoos. One of the most beautiful of all is the African Emerald 

 Cuckoo, in which the upper-j^arts are of a vivid emerald-green, whilst the under-parts are 

 bright yellow. 



Finally, we must mention the Ground-CUCKOOS, which are comparatively long-legged, 

 terrestrial forms, with small wings. One of the best known is an inhabitant of the Southern 

 United States, from Texas to New Mexico, Southern Colorado, and California. "It has obtained 

 the name of Rood-runner," writes Dr. Sharpe, "from the speed with which it flies over the 

 ground, some idea of which may be gained from a statement of Colonel Stevenson, that, when 

 in Southern California, he saw, on two occasions, the ranchmen of that part of the country 

 chase one of these birds on horseback for a distance of a mile or more at full speed, when 

 the cuckoo, though still in advance, would suddenly sto]) and fly up among the upper limbs 

 of some stunted tree or bush near the roadside, and the rider, having kept the bird in view 

 all the way, would dismount and easily take the exhausted bird from its perch alive." 



That the African Plantain-eaters, or Toueacos, are related to the Cuckoos there can be 

 no doubt, although they do not bear any very close superficial resemblance to them. Striking 

 in ajspearance and of beautiful plumage, they owe as much of the interest which now centres 

 on them to the chemist as to the ornithologist. Long ago it was noticed that the rich 

 crimson colour of the wing-quills disappeared after exposure to a heavy rain, having been 



Co 



Fhoto by J. T. Neicmaa] 



[Bcri-ha.ii^ 



YOUNG CUCKOO. 



A young cuckoo remains in the nest till fully fledged. 



