AVES 305 



he begins the process of extermination. The great crowned pigeon, a 

 native of the Solomon Islands, represents the climax of the evolution 

 of the pigeon family. It is a noble-looking bird, as much as thirty- 

 four inches in length; with a great, erect, fan-shaped crest of feathers 

 on top of the head which gives it a regal appearance. 



The Cuckoo-like Birds (Cuculiformes) 



This order is sharply subdivided into two sub-orders: the Cuculi 

 (cuckoos and plantain-eaters), and the Psittad (parrots, parrakeets, 

 etc.). 



Of the Cuculi Knowlton says: — 



"Taking everything into account, the Cuckoos comprise a 

 very remarkable and interesting group of birds, being for the 

 most part birds of shams and pretenses, and ever seeking to con- 

 vey the impression that they are other than they really are." 

 We might well call them " camouflage birds," a term that would well 

 characterize these interesting traits. They are certainly great mimics 

 both of the appearance and of the voices of other birds. Some 

 Cuckoos place their eggs in the nests of other birds. It is perhaps 

 on account of this peculiar parasitic nesting habit that they are best 

 known. Instead of building a nest of her own, the female lays her eggs 

 on the ground and then carries them in her bill to the nest of other 

 birds. The bird thus imposed upon is likely to react against this 

 intrusion by dumping out the foreign egg, or by building a second 

 story to the nest, thus leaving the cuckoo egg walled up in the base- 

 ment. Doubtless, however, a sufficiently large number of cuckoo 

 eggs are tolerated by other birds to keep up the normal supply of the 

 various species. This parasitic habit belongs to the Old World 

 cuckoos, for the American cuckoos build their own nests. The road- 

 runner is an interesting terrestrial Cuckoo familiar to the inhabitants 

 of the Southwestern United States and Mexico. One sees this long- 

 legged bird pacing along ahead of him on lonely country roads, always 

 keeping a respectful distance ahead, but not offering to leave the 

 road or to fly. The plantain-eaters seem to be in some ways inter- 

 mediate between the cuckoos and the parrots. 



The Psittaci, parrots, (Fig. 157, F), are a very sharply circum- 

 scribed group of brilliant and interesting birds. There are over eighty 

 known genera but they are all unmistakably related. They are 

 usually brilliant in plumage, favoring green, yellow and brilliant red 



