ORNITHOLOGY. 



597 



Seansores. great effect. Whilst ascending, it moves spirally round 

 s "~ ~v~~^ the tree, utters its loud pail, pait, pait, at almost every 

 hop, but becomes silent the moment it reaches a place 

 where it conceives itself secure. They sometimes cling 

 to the bark with their claws so firmly, as to remain cramp- 

 ed to the spot for several hours after death. When taken 

 by the hand, which is rather a hazardous undertaking, 

 they strike with great violence, and inflict very severe 

 wounds with their bill as well as claws, which are ex- 

 tremely sharp and strong. On such occasions, this bird 

 utters a mournful and very piteous cry." 1 



A few species in which the bill is obviously arched 

 form the genus Colaptes of Mr Swainson. They seem, 

 moreover, distinguished by the broad, bright-coloured shafts 

 of the quill-feathers. Such is the gold-winged woodpeck- 

 er (P. auratus) already alluded to. These birds perch 

 more frequently than the genuine woodpeckers, that is, 

 grasp or encircle the smaller branches, and they also often 

 feed upon the ground. A Brazilian species is even nam- 

 ed P. campestris, from its habit of searching about in 

 fields and plains for insects in the dung of cattle, or on 

 ant-hills, where it finds an ample supply of favourite food. 

 This form occurs also in Africa. Certain three-toed 

 species were formed into the genus Picoides by Lace- 

 pede. (Plate CCCXCV. fig. 3.) 



The genus Yunx of Linn., containing the wrynecks, re- 

 markable for their beautifully brindled plumage, is of very 

 limited extent. The sole European species ( Yunx tor- 

 quilla) is in Britain a rare but regular summer bird of pas- 

 sage, breeding in hollow trees, laying numerous eggs, and 

 feeding on insects. The genus Picumnus of Temm. is 

 nearly allied, but is distinguished by its extremely short 

 tail. Example, P. abnormis, Temm. PI. Col. 371, fig. 3, 

 which comes from Java. Picus mimitus, which some au- 

 thors place here, is by others regarded as a Yunx. 



In the genus Cuculus of Linn, were originally placed 

 a number of different insectivorous birds, commonly called 

 cuckoos, which agreed in the general form of the feet, 

 the lengthened tail, the bill of medium size, rather deeply 

 cleft, somewhat compressed, and slightly curved. But 

 they have since been formed into numerous minor groups, 

 the most marked and conspicuous of which we shall here 

 briefly notice. 



The true cuckoos, genus Cuculus, Cuv., have the bill 

 of moderate strength, the tarsi short, and the tail of ten 

 feathers. As an example, we name our common British 

 species, C. canorus, so remarkable for its singular and 

 somewhat anomalous habit of depositing its eggs in the 

 nests of other birds, a fact now so well known, and so 

 frequently recorded, that we need not here dilate upon 

 the subject, however curious in itself. The nest of the 

 hedge-sparrow (Accentor modularis) is that most usually 

 chosen in the south of England, — that of the yellow-ham- 

 mer (Emb. citrinella), the wagtail (Mot. alba), and the 



meadow titlark (A. pratensis), being, however, likewise Seansores. 

 devoted to the purpose. " In Northumberland," says Mr"^ - "V""-' 

 Selby, " constant experience tells me, that the nest of 

 the last-mentioned bird is the one almost always chosen. 

 Taking advantage of the absence of its dupe during the 

 time of laying (which generally occupies four or five days), 

 the cuckoo deposits its egg among the rest, abandoning 

 it from that moment to the care of the foster-parent. As 

 the same period of incubation is common to both birds, 

 the eggs are hatched nearly together, which no sooner 

 takes place than the young cuckoo proceeds instinctively 

 to eject its young companions and any remaining eggs 

 from the nest. To effect this object, it contrives to work 

 itself under its burden (the back at this early age being 

 provided with a peculiar depression between the shoul- 

 ders), and shuffling backwards to the edge of the nest, 

 by a jerk rids itself of the incumbrance ; and this opera- 

 tion is repeated, till the whole being thrown over, it re- 

 mains sole possessor. This particular tendency remains 

 for about twelve days, after which the hollow space be- 

 tween the shoulders is filled up ; and when prevented 

 from accomplishing its purpose till the expiration of that 

 time, as if conscious of inability, it suffers its companions 

 to remain unmolested." 2 



Various supposed reasons have been assigned for this 

 anomalous, and we might almost say unnatural, instinct. 

 Some have attributed it to the displacement of certain 

 viscera (the gizzard is said to be situate farther back than 

 in most other birds), which unfits them for the purposes 

 of incubation, while others imagine that the early period 

 at which cuckoos migrate from this country (they are ge- 

 nerally off by the beginning of July) makes it necessary 

 that they should leave their offspring to the care of foster- 

 parents. 3 But anatomical investigation has not proved 

 any thing sufficiently peculiar in their structure to warrant 

 the first conclusion ; and as to the second, it seems to us 

 not so much a deduction from a regulating and causative 

 fact in their history, as the statement of an additional cir- 

 cumstance which renders that history still more singular, 

 and which naturally leads to the question, not easily an- 

 swered, of why do they migrate so early? 4 In short, we 

 know nothing at all about the matter, further than that 

 the cuckoo of Europe, like the cow-bunting of America, 

 always lays eggs, but never hatches them. The same 

 custom is alleged, we think upon a narrow and ill-consi- 

 dered generalization, to characterize the other kinds of 

 cuckoo. It may be a practice common to several species, 

 but the rare black and white spotted cuckoo (Cuculus Pi- 

 sanus, Gm., an odd name for an African bird, which hap- 

 pened once upon a time to visit Tuscany) is stated by the 

 authors of the Storia degli Uccelli to have built a nest in 

 the woods of Pisa, and reared four young ones. This spe- 

 cies is extremely rare in Europe. It is known, however, 

 in the Genoese territory, 5 and the young have been occa- 



1 Ornithological Biography, i. 341. 2 British Ornithology, vol- i. p. 398. 3 British Ornithology, vol. i. p. 399. 



* Besides, in Italy and other southern parts of Europe, this migration does not take place till September, and yet the habits of the 

 bird are precisely the same. " Quelli uccellini," says Savi, " nel covo de' quali il cuculo ha lasciato l'uovo, non vi fanno attenzione ; 

 come uno de' loro seguitano a covarlo, e quando e nato imboccano e custodiscono il piccolo cuculo, con lo stesso amore, e con la cura 

 medesima de' figli propri. Ma ben presto egli paga d'ingratitudine le premure deli'amorosa sua balia : crescendo molto piu de' com- 

 pagni, dopo poco tempo il nido e per lui troppo stretto : allora ricorre a un barbaro espediente per procurarsi un alloggio piu comodo :" 

 &c — kt Itipete quest' operazione successivamente, in ragione che cresce, e che gli altri compagni lo incomodano, di modo che alia 

 fine rimane solo nel nido usurpato. Cosi quei miseri uccelli che construirono il nido e che ban fatto da balia al cuculo, sono da lui 

 privati ad uno ad uno di tutti i figli." ltegarding the movements of the parent bird in Italy, he observes, " E uccello migratono : 

 arriva nell' Aprile, e parti in Settembre. Appena arriva comincia a cantare, e quantunque il suo verso non abbia alcuna varieta, non 

 ostante la voce essendo dolce e rotonda, si sente con piacere. Grandissimo e il numero che ne rimane in Toscana : non vi e bosco in 

 monte o in piano, che in primavera ed in estate, non risuoni dal cu cu, cu at, di questo uccello. Nel Settembre comincia a muoversi 

 per emigare: allora in alcuni anni se ne vede passare unaquantita grandissima per la pianura Pisana. Nel Settembre del 1823, gli 

 alberi dello stradone che da Pisa va al Parco Keale di S. Kossore, attraversando vastissime praterie, ne furono pieni per una diecina 

 di giorni. Volavano i cuculi da una pianta all' altra, andavano a posarsi un poco sul prato, ritornavano sugli alberi, ma di la non si 

 allontanavano, benche enntinuamente lossero molestati dai non pochi cacciatori che vi erano acccorsi. Questi uccelli volano con grande 

 agilita, e spesso, particularmente andando a posarsi, senza muovere le ali, come sogliono fare i Falchi." (Ornitologia Toscana, t. i. p. 152.) 



5 Calvi, Catalugo d'Ornitolvgia di Gcnova, p. 55. 



