376 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



BIRDS. 



American Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Dorsetshire. — Through the 

 courtesy of Mr. Rowland Ward, on Oct. 7th I had placed in my hands for 

 examination a specimen, still unskinned, of Cuculus americanus, which had 

 been picked up dead on Oct. 5th in a garden near Bridport. Never having 

 had an opportunity of examining a bird of this species in the flesh before, 

 I naturally regarded it with some curiosity, and immediately took a note 

 of its measurements, general appearance, and colours of the soft parts. 

 Comparing it first of all with the life-size coloured figure given by Gould, 

 in his ' Birds of Europe,' I remarked a general agreement with the bird in 

 hand, except in the following particulars. In Gould's figure the eye is 

 bright red (as in C. erythrophthalmus), whereas in the bird before me it was 

 hazel, with the eyelids lemon-yellow. Gould has shown the legs and feet 

 of a greenish brown, no doubt in consequence of having drawn his figure 

 from a dried skin in which the colour had faded : these parts in a freshly- 

 killed specimen are lead-colour. In one other respect Gould's figure might 

 be improved. The inner webs of the flight-feathers are extensively tinged 

 with cinnamon, and the outer webs also to a less extent — a noticeable 

 feature when the wings are extended, though less apparent when closed. 

 In Gould's figure the closed wings are too much the colour of the back, 

 which is olive-grey. It is observable that in the letter-press which accom- 

 panies his plate he has described the irides as hazel, and the legs and toes 

 blue, but unfortunately, as so often happens, the plate does not accord with 

 the text. Turning to the very useful ' Key to North-American Birds,' by 

 Dr. Elliott Coues, the accuracy of his diagnosis of this species (p. 476) 

 became apparent: — "Bill [long and decurved] black, extensively yellow 

 below and on the sides of upper mandible. Feet [short, zygodactyle] 

 dark plumbeous. Above satiny olive-gray. Below pure white. Wings 

 [with ten primaries] extensively cinnamon-rufous on inner webs of the 

 quills [less conspicuously so on the outer webs]. [Tail-feathers 10, 

 graduated.] [Two] Central tail-feathers like the back ; the rest black, with 

 large white tips, the outermost usually also edged with white. Very 

 constant in colour, the chief variation being in extent and intensity of the 

 cinnamon on the wings, which sometimes shows through when the wings 

 are closed, and even tinges the coverts. Young birds differ chiefly in having 

 the white ends of the tail-feathers less trenchant and extensive, the black 

 not so pure ; this state approaches the condition of C. erythrophthalmus, 

 but does not match it 



In the above extract I have inserted in square brackets such additional 

 remarks as were suggested by a comparison with the fresh specimen. The 

 measurements I found to be as follows : — Total length 11-75 in. ; extent of 

 wing, 16 in. ;* bill from gape, 1'25 in. ; wing from carpus, 5*50 in. ; tail, 





