294 THE YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 



has seen the perfect and beautiful forms of birds, quadrupeds or other objects, 

 as they have come from the hand of Nature, discovers that the representa- 

 tion is not that of living Nature! But I am deviating from the track which 

 I wish to follow, my desire being simply to give you an opportunity, good 

 reader, of judging for yourself as to the truth of nry delineations, and to 

 present you with the results of my observations made in those very woods 

 where the subjects have been found and depicted. 



The flight of the bird now before you is rapid, silent, and horizontal, as it 

 moves from one tree to another, or across a field or river, and is generally 

 continued amongst the branches of the trees in our woods. When making 

 its way among the branches, it occasionally inclines the body to either side, 

 so as alternately to shew its whole upper or under parts. During its south- 

 ward migration, it flies high in the air, and in such loose flocks that the 

 birds might seem to follow each other, instead of their keeping company 

 together. On the other h§nd, early in March, the greater number enter our 

 southern boundaries singly, the males arriving first, and the females a few 

 weeks after. They do not fly in a continued line, but in a broad front, as, 

 while travelling with great rapidity in a steamboat, so as to include a range 

 of a hundred miles in one day, I have observed this Cuckoo crossing the 

 Mississippi at many different points on the same day. At this season, they 

 resort to the deepest shades of the forests, and intimate their presence by the 

 frequent repetition of their dull and unmusical notes, which are not unlike 

 those of the young bull-frog. These notes may be represented by the word 

 cow, cow, repeated eight or ten times with increasing rapidity. In fact, 

 from the resemblance of its notes to that word, this Cuckoo is named Coiv- 

 bird in nearly every part of the Union. The Dutch farmers of Pennsyl- 

 vania know it better by the name of Rain Croio, and in Louisiana the 

 French settlers call it Coucou. 



It robs smaller birds of their eggs, which it sucks on all occasions, and is 

 cowardly and shy, without being vigilant. On this latter account, it often 

 falls a prey to several species of Hawks, of which the Pigeon Hawk (Falco 

 columbarius) may be considered as its most dangerous enemy. It prefers 

 the Southern States for its residence, and when very mild winters occur in 

 Louisiana, some individuals remain there, not finding it necessary to go 

 farther south. 



This bird is not abundant anywhere, and yet is found very far north. I 

 have met with it in all the low grounds and damp places in Massachusetts, 

 along the line of Upper Canada, pretty high on the Mississippi and Arkan- 

 sas, and in every state between these boundary lines. Its appearance in the 

 State of New York seldom takes place before the beginning of May, and at 

 Green Bay not until the middle of that month,. A pair here and there seem 



