54 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



feathered half-way down, toes slender, 2nd and 3rd (longest) directed 

 forwards and 1st (very short) and 4th backwards (see fig. A, vol. 1, 

 p. 5). 



Soft parts. — Bill : upper mandible dark horn, lower greenish, 

 paler at base ; legs and feet yellow ; iris orange-yellow (hazel in 

 juvenile) ; eyelids yellow ; inside mouth reddish-orange, gape yellow. 



Characters and allied forms. — C. c. Meinschmidti (Corsica) 

 stated to be darker on upper -parts is doubtful ; C. c. minor (Spain, 

 north-west Africa) is smaller ; C. c. telephonus (west Siberia to Japan 

 and Himalayas) has barring on under-parts finer and less black ; 

 C. c. bakeri (Khasia Mts., India) has darker upper -parts and 

 broad-banded under-parts. C. optatus (Siberia, north Japan, 

 China, India) has barring of under-parts broad and black and under 

 tail- and wing -coverts rusty-cream. C. intermedins (Japan, China, 

 Himalayas) is very small. C. micropterus (south and middle China, 

 India) is dark grey-brown on upper-parts. Long white-tipped 

 tail, uniform slate-grey upper-parts of adult and barred under- 

 parts together with structure of bill and feet distinguish Cuckoos 

 from other British birds. 



Field -characters. — Blue -grey colour, barred under-parts and 

 long tail of adult suggest a Sparrow-Hawk, but wings are shorter, 

 tail-feathers tipped white, and flight slow and laboured. Haunts 

 very varied, e.g. woodlands, cultivated districts and sand-dunes, 

 whilst grouse-moors and open hill-country are much affected. 

 Call of male, " cuck-oo," and, as season advances, " cuck-cuck-oo," 

 is sometimes preceded by hoarse " kwow-wow-wow." Female has 

 a loud water-bubbling cry. Young, which is clove-brown in 

 colour with white spot on nape, shows resentment when in nest 

 by a low hiss, and, if handled, emits a shrill whistling scream. The 

 hunger-cry, a querulous and incessant " chiz, chiz, chiz " used 

 only after nest is vacated, is uttered regardless of warning alarm- 

 notes of foster-parents. 



Breeding-habits. — Parasitic on other species, placing a single 

 egg in a nest and generally removing one of the fosterer's at same 

 time. In rare cases where two or three Cuckoo's eggs are found 

 in one nest, they are produce of different hens. Estimates of 

 number of eggs laid vary from 5-8 (Saunders) to about 17-22 laid 

 on alternate days (Bey). Each hen confines herself to a limited 

 locality, and shows a preference for some particular fosterer. In 

 case of Beed -Warbler maximum number of eggs from one female 

 in one season appears to be about 11 or 12, but under exceptionally 

 favourable circumstances E. Chance records 16 and even 21 

 from one hen in nests of Meadow-Pipit. Bey's series of 16 and 17 

 from nests of Bed-backed Shrike in Germany are undoubtedly also 

 genuine. Capek suggests two clutches of 5-7 and about 4-5 eggs 

 with an interval between them. Eggs. — Variable, but less so in 



