BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 119 



ORDER COCCYGES. CUCKOOS. 



* 



SUBORDER CUCULI. CUCKOOS. 







FAMILY CUCULnXffi. CUCKOO&, ANIS 

 SUBFAMILY COCCYGIN^G. AMERICAN CUCKOOS. 



GENUS COCCYZUS. VIEILLGT. 

 387. Coccyzus americanus (LINN.). 



Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Upper mandible and tip of lower black ; rest of lower mandible, and cutting 

 edges of the upper yellow ; upper parts of a metallic greenish-olive, slightly tinged 

 with ash towards the bill ; beneath white ; tail feathers (except the medium, which 

 are like the back) black, tipped with white for about an inch on the outer feathers, 

 the external one with the outer edge almost entirely white ; quills orange-cinna 

 mon ; the terminal portion and a gloss on the outer webs olive ; iris brown. Length 

 12 inches ; wing 5.95 ; tail 6.35. 



Hab. Temperate North America, from New Brunswick, Canada, Minnesota, 

 Nevada and Oregon south to Costa Rica and the West Indies. Less common from 

 the eastern border of the plains westward. 



This species is easily known by the yellow under mandible, the 

 broadly white tipped tail feathers and the bright cinnamon markings 

 of the wings. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo, a common summer resident, 

 arrives in Pennsylvania about the last week in April and returns gen- 

 erally to its southern winter resorts by the latter part of September. 

 The common names of Rain-crow and Kow-bird given to both the 

 Yellow and Black-billed Cuckoos arise from their peculiar and loud 

 gutteral notes of Kow, Row, which are, it is said, most clamorous at 

 the approach of rain. Both species are also known in some sections 

 of this State by the name of Indian hen. The Cuckoos are fcmch 

 more frequently heard than seen, unless it is at times when they dart 

 from one tree to another, or into the thick foliage of bushes. The 

 nest of this species is loosely built of small sticks lined with grasses, 

 and placed usually on the low limb of a tree, sometimes, however, it 

 is found in thick bushes. The eggs, generally two or four, are light 

 greenish-blue in color and measure about 1.24 inches in length, and 

 about .90 of an inch in width. Writing of this species Audubon says : 

 *' It robs smaller birds of their eggs, which it sucks on all occasions, 

 and is cowardly and shy, without being vigilant. On this latter ac- 

 count it often falls a prey to several species of Hawks, of which the 

 Pigeon Hawk may be considered as its most dangerous enemy. It 

 prefers the Southern States for its residence, and when very mild 



