AMERICAN CUCKOO. 35 



INSESSORES. CUCULIDJE. 



SCANSORES. 



PLATE CXLII. 



AMERICAN CUCKOO. 



Cuculus americanus. {Linn.) 



The American Cuckoo is one of those rare occasional 

 visitants, which ranks amongst British birds in consequence 

 of its having been found in a wild state in this country in 

 two or three instances ; but there is no record of its breeding 

 in Great Britain. North America is the native country of 

 the bird now before us ; and for as much of its history as we 

 are now enabled to give, we are indebted to the American 

 ornithologists. The American Cuckoo differs in some of its 

 habits from our well-known summer visitor, figured in the 

 preceding Number, and chiefly in building a nest and hatch- 

 ing its young like other birds. The nest, which is said to 

 be generally placed in the forked branch of some middle- 

 sized tree, is constructed of roots, and lined with wool. The 

 eggs are three or four in number, of an even bluish- green 

 colour, as represented in our plate ; and we are indebted to 

 Mr. Yarrell for the opportunity of enabling us to figure the 

 egg of this bird from his collection. The drawing of the 

 bird we made from a specimen in the British Museum. The 

 head and all the upper parts of the American Cuckoo, includ- 

 ing the two middle tail-feathers, are brown ; but the texture 



of the feathers is so silky, that, according to the light in 



d 2 



