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ORD. Il. GENUS VI. CUCKOO. 
Bitzi, weak, and curved at the end. 
Nostrits, fmall,-and bounded by a narrow rim. 
Toncutz, fhort and pointed. 
Tors, two before, and two behind. 
Tart, confifts of ten feathers, long, and cuneiform. 
SPECTES -E.MeCUCKR OO. 
PL, 44. 
Cuculus canorus. Liz, Sy. I. p. 168. 
Le Coucou. rif. Orn. IV. p. 105. 
The male of this fpecies is in length fourteen inches, the expanfion of the 
wings from tip to tip is twenty-five inches, but the fize of the body bears no 
proportion to the great length of the wings and tail, as it weighs only five 
ounces. The endvof the bill is dark horn colour, bafe and infide rich yellow: 
eyes yellow: the head, hind part of the neck, wing coverts, and rump, brownifh 
grey: breaft, and belly, white, elegantly croffed with undulated lines of black : 
the legs are remarkably fhort, and of a yellow colour. The young birds are 
brown, mixed and barred with pale orange colour and black. 

This fingular bird migrates to us in April, and makes the fhorteft ftay of any 
of the birds of paflage to this country. It frequents and moftly refides in mea- 
dows, feeding on infects only, particularly large caterpillars. It makes no neft, 
but drops a fingle egg in the neft of any fmall bird that feeds on infects ; 
commonly the willow wren, or fedgbird; though fometimes the hedge warbler 
is at the trouble of bringing up this unnatural production at the expence of her _ 

own progeny, which, as the young cuckoo grows in fize, he either ftarves or 
fhoves out of the neft. The egg is reprefented in Pl, X. Fig. 2. 

ee . . - —— Re en SST: 

