^04 



CUCULIDiE. 



GENUS CCL.— SPHENURA, Spix. 



nostrum elongatum, subula- 

 tum, vix arcuatum, sub- 

 cylindricum, ad apicem 

 obtusum. 



Nares rotundae. 



Cauda molle, detrita. 



Digiti ad basin coaliti, an- 

 tici laterales inaequales. 



BeaJc elongated, awl-shaped, 

 scarcely bent, subcylindric, 

 obtuse at the tip. 



Nostrils rounded. 

 Tail soft, worn. 

 To^tS united at the base, the la- 

 teral anterior ones unequal. 



Sp. 1 . Sp. subulata. Spix, Avium Nova Spec. p. 82. pi. Ixxxiii. 



Sp.Jtisco-brunnea corpore subtus pallide rufescente ; capite, nec 

 non dorso, albo striatis ; caudd rufd; guld ochraceo-alba. 



Fuscous-brown Sphenura, with the body beneath pale reddish ; 

 the head and back striped with white ; the tail rufous ; the 

 throat ochraceous- white. 



Inhabits Brazil, 



FAMILY v.— CUCULIDiE. 



Rostrum basi glabrum, arcuatum aut apicem aduncum, integrum 



aut denticulatum : pedes zygodactyli; digitis anticis interdum 



basi membrand coaliti. 

 Beak glabrous at the base, bent or hooked towards the tip, intire 



or denticulated : toes disposed in pairs, the anterior sometimes 



united by a membrane at the base. 



The manners of the birds included in this ex- 

 tensive family are various ; they all subsist upon in- 

 sects, and the major portion of them are migratory : 

 the true Cuckoos are v^ell known to desert their 

 young, and do not trouble themselves to construct 

 any nest : other genera build their nests on the arms 



