190 
POPULAU HISTORY OF BIRDS. 
care of their offspring on some of the smaller birds^ prefer- 
ring especially the nests of the honey-eaters. Mr. Gould 
says^ when giving an account of the Cnculus inornatus, that 
after the young has left the nest and grown to a considerable 
size^ it is not unusual to see it fed by two or more different 
species at the same time^ as if the smaller birds had en- 
tered into a mutual compact to feed the cunning para- 
site. The Golden or Bronze Cuckoo {Clirysococcyx lucidus) 
most generally deposits its egg in a domed nest^ with a very 
small hole for an entrance. 
Some of the cuckoos have a long claw to one of the hind 
toes^ as in the lark and Plectrophanes : they seem to be 
peculiarly terrestrial in their habits. The Crow Pheasant 
of India, or Lark-heeled Cuckoo {Centropus p7/rrhopterus) , 
is one of these birds. Mr. Jerdon describes it as feeding 
chiefly on the ground, where it walks and runs with the 
greatest ease, and finds abundance of food. This consists 
of large insects, centipedes, lizards, scorpions, and small 
snakes. It is a slow and stupid bird ; and as its powers of 
flight are very feeble, it can be easily run down"^. 
The Crotophaga Ani, or Savanna Blackbird, is described 
by Mr. Gosse as being the most common of the birds of 
* Jerdon, Madras Journal, vol. xi. p. 224. 
