142 IN BESS ORE 8. 



assigning to it tliat position. We have several spe- 

 cies in the United States, the most abundant being 

 the Yellow- billed Cuckoo. This graceful and familiar 

 bird, being of somewhat a quiet and retiring dispo- 

 sition, frequents the most secluded and thickest part 

 of the woods, where its low and simple notes of 

 " Cowe, cowe, eoo, coo, coo," may be heard, uttered 

 at first slowly, but gradually increasing in rapidity 

 until the syllables run together. When it becomes 

 more clamorous than usual, it is said to be a sign of 

 approaching rain, which in some places has conferred 



Cuckoo. 



upon it the title of Rain Crow. The Cuckoos of 

 America, unlike their European relative, invariably 

 build their own nests and rear their own young, and 

 do not seem to be lacking in the least degree in a 

 strong aifection for their progeny. The species now 

 before us has been accused of sucking the eggs of 



