58 



BULLETIN 326, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



without corroboration of eating other bird's eggs, but at present no evil is 

 known of it. It will be noted that this is one of the few insectivorous birds 

 of any size on the island that do not prey more or less upon the abundant 

 lizards. 



The following were identified in the stomachs of the mangrove cuckoo : 



ORTHOPTERA. 



Ellipes minuta 



Orocharis terebrans 



Scapteriscus didactyhis 



Microcentrum triangidatum. 



Neoconocephalus sp 



Aploplus acJialus 



Callimantis antillarum 



HEMIPTERA. 



Thy ant a perditor. 

 Proarno hilaris— 



COLEOPTERA. 



Pyrophorus luminosus. 



Lachnosterna sp 



Eburia sp 



Lachnopus sp 



Diaprepes spengleri 



Rlxyssematus .sp 



ARACHNID A. 



Avicularia sp. 



MOLLUSCA 



Subulina sp_ 



VIEILLOT'S GROUND CUCKOO. Saurothera rieilloti Bonaparte. 

 Pajaro Bobo, Pajaro de Agua, Pajaro Bobo Major. 



The ground cuckoo is a fairly common resident species in Porto Rico. In 

 spite of its large size it is very inconspicuous, and its long tail, instead of making 

 it prominent, aids its protective coloration by giving it rather an unbirdlike con- 

 tour. In passing through the trees, the birds usually keep to the densest foliage 

 and make long pauses, during which they sit motionless or merely turn the 

 head slightly. In early morning they may be found in dead trees or on exposed 

 limbs, where they sit in the sun with drooping wings and ruffled feathers. They 

 are very tame and show no fear of man. Though seen occasionally on the 

 ground, they seem to spend most of their time in bushes and trees. The ordi- 

 nary call notes, heard frequently, are cuckoolike and resemble the syllables 

 cow cow, kuk krrk given disconnectedly. Sometimes a cuckoo would perch in 

 the top of a tree, giving a sonorous almost ravenlike note, and on one occasion 

 one was seen standing on a limb with trembling wings, giving utterance to a 

 low cooing note. In some localities the name " pajaro de agua " was given them 

 because of the belief that they called only before an approaching rain — a 

 prophecy that usually came true. They were more common inland in the coffee 

 plantations, but were encountered in the swampy forest near Mameyes and 

 elsewhere near the coast. 



A. and E. Newton 1 record one taken on Bieque (Vieques Island) by a col- 

 lector for Apotheker Riise, of St. Thomas, the only known record of the bird 

 outside the island of Porto Rico. 



Food. — Tabulated results of examinations of 11 stomachs show 99.89 per cent 

 animal matter. A small percentage of vegetable rubbish was found in two 

 stomachs, but nothing that can be called true vegetable food was taken. Small 

 lizards make up more than three-fourths of the bulk, and a few spiders, Lepi- 

 doptera, and cicadas form most of the remainder. 



Lizard remains occurred in 10 stomachs, and in many cases small ones were 

 found entire. Frequently, however, when torn in two, the contents of their 

 stomachs (ants and small beetles) usually mingled with the food of the bird 

 itself, so that care was necessary in separating this material. Four species of 

 lizards were identified, but all the small ones found in the forests and coffee 

 plantations are eaten. They make 78.56 per cent of the food. Spiders, fre- 



1 Ibis, 1859, p. 378. 



