2 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 



he traverses the borders of deep, retired, high timbered hol- 

 lows, an uncouth, guttural sound, or note, resembling the 

 syllables, Jcowe, koive, kowe koive kowe, beginning slowly, but 

 ending so rapidly, that the notes seem to run into each other ; 

 and vice versa : he will hear this frequently, without being 

 able to discover the bird or animal from which it proceeds, 

 as it is both shy and solitary, seeking always the thickest 

 foliage for concealment. This is the yellow-billed cuckoo, 

 the subject of the present account. From the imitative 

 sound of its note, it is known in many parts by the name of 

 the cow-bird ; it is also called in Virginia the rain crow, 

 being observed to be most clamorous immediately before rain. 

 This species arrives in Pennsylvania, from the south, 

 about the 22nd of April, and spreads over the countr}', as 

 far at least as Lake Ontario ; is numerous in the Chickasaw 

 and Chactaw nations ; and also breeds in the upper parts of 



singly ; but when removing again to a warmer latitude, they appear to 

 be gregarious, flying high in the air, and in loose flocks. 



They appear to delight more in deep woody solitudes than the true 

 cuckoos, or those which approach nearest to the form of the European 

 species. They, again, though often found near woods, and in richly 

 clothed countries, are fond of open and extensive heaths or commons, 

 studded or fringed with brush and forest : here they may expect an. 

 abundant supply of the foster parent to their young. The gliding and 

 turning motion when flying in a thicket, however, is similar to that of 

 the American Coccyzus. Like them, also, they are seldom on the ground ; 

 but, when obliged to be near it, alight on some hillock or twig, where 

 they will continue for a considerable time, swinging round their body in 

 a rather ludicrous manner, with lowered wings and expanded tail, and 

 uttering a rather low, monotonous sound, resembling the kowe of our 

 American bird, — 



Turning round and round with cutty-coo. 



When suddenly surprised or disturbed from their roost at night, they 

 utter a short, tremulous whistle, three or four times repeated ; it is only 

 on their first arrival, during the early part of incubation, when in search 

 of a mate, that their well known and welcome note is heard ; by the 

 first of July all is silent. The idea that the common cuckoo destroys 

 eggs and young birds, like the American Coccyzus, is also entertained ; 

 I have never seen them do so, but the fact is affirmed by most country 

 persons, and many gamekeepers destroy them on this account. — Ed. 



