132 CUCKOOS. 



It is generally resident throughout its range, and in 

 March makes its nest, selecting for a site a hollow tree, 

 or the deserted home of a Crow or Hawk. Two to four 

 eggs are laid, which, like the eggs of all Owls, are pure 

 white. 



CUCKOOS, KINGFISHERS, ETC. (ORDER COCCYGES). 



Cuckoos. (Family Cuculid^.) 



All Cuckoos have two toes directed forward and two 

 backward, but the cause or use of this character it is dif- 

 ficult to understand, so widely do the members of this 

 family differ in habit. Some are arboreal, never visiting 

 the earth, while others are terrestrial, running with great 

 swiftness, and rarely perching far above the ground. 



Most Cuckoos — all our thirty-five American species — 

 have noticeably long tails, which they raise and droop 

 slowly just after alighting, or when their curiosity is 

 aroused. 



Of the one hundred and seventy-five known species, 



only two are found in the northeastern States — the Yel- 



„ „ , billed and the Black-billed Cuckoos. 



Tellow-billed Cuckoo, 

 Cocajms amerioanus. The former IS generally the more com- 



piate XXII. mon. It is a retiring bird, and you 

 will doubtless be first attracted to it by its notes. It does 

 not perch in an exposed position, nor make long flights, 

 but usually flies from the shelter of one tree directly into 

 the protecting foliage of another. If you catch a glimpse 

 of it in passing, its long tail and brownish color will 

 suggest a Dove. 



Cuckoos are mysterious birds well worth watching. 

 I would not imply that their deeds are evil ; on the con- 

 trary, they are exceedingly beneficial birds. One of 

 their favorite foods is the tent caterpillar which spins the 



