36 CUCULID.E. 



which the bird is viewed, reflections of either grey, green, 

 or rufous are thrown upon the plumage, and it becomes in 

 consequence a difficult task to represent the bird correctly in 

 a coloured print or drawing, or even accurately to describe it. 

 The head and back have a tinge of grey ; the wings and 

 middle tail-feathers incline to an olive colour ; the rest of 

 the tail-feathers are black with a white tip, and the whole 

 of the under parts are white. The legs and feet are black. 

 The iris, golden yellow. The upper mandible of the beak 

 is black, with a yellow edge near the gape ; the under mandi- 

 ble is ochre-yellow, with a black tip. The length of the 

 American Cuckoo is eleven inches and a half. 



The food of this bird consists chiefly of caterpillars and 

 other insects, and their larvae. 



The egg figured 142 is that of the American Cuckoo. 



