308 
GEOGRAPHICAL ZOOLOGY, 
[part IV. 
Family 58. — CUCULIDAE, (35 Genera, 180 Species.) 
General Distribution. 
Neotropical 
Sub-regions. 
Ne ARCTIC 
Sub-regions. 
Fal^earctic 
Sub- regions. 
Ethiopian 
Sub-regions. 
Oriental 
Sub-regions. 
Australian 
Sub-regions. 
1 . 2 . 3.41 
1 . 2.3 — 
1 . 2 . 3 .4 
1 1 . 2 . 3 .4 
! 1 . 2 . 3.4 
1 . 2 . 3. 4 
The Cuculidse, of which our well-known Cuckoo is one of the 
most widely distributed types, are essentially a tropical group 
of weak insectivorous birds, abounding in varied forms in all 
the warmer parts of the globe, but very scarce or only appearing 
as migrants in the temperate and colder zones. Many of the 
smaller Eastern species are adorned with the most intense 
golden or violet metallic lustre, while some of the larger forms 
have gaily-coloured bills or bare patches of bright red on the 
cheeks. Many of the cuckoos of the Eastern Hemisphere are 
parasitic, laying their eggs in other birds’ nests ; and they are also 
remarkable for the manner in which they resemble other birds, 
as hawks, pheasants, or drongo-shrikes. The distribution of the 
Cuckoo family is rather remarkable. They abound most in the 
Oriental region, which produces no less than 18 genera, of which 
11 are peculiar ; the Australian has 8, most of which are also Ori- 
ental, but 3 are peculiar, one of these being confined to Celebes 
and closely allied to an Oriental group ; the Ethiopian region has 
only 7 genera, all of which are Oriental but three, 2 of these being 
peculiar to Madagascar, and the other common to Madagascar 
and Africa. America has 11 genera, all quite distinct from those 
of the Eastern Hemisphere, and only three enter the Neurotic 
region, one species extending to Canada. 
Remembering our conclusions as to the early history of the 
several regions, these facts enable us to indicate, with consider- 
able probability, the origin and mode of dispersal of the cuckoos. 
They were almost certainly developed in the Oriental and Palae- 
arctic regions, but reached the Neotropical at a very early date, 
where they have since been completely isolated. Africa must 
have long remained without cuckoos, the earliest immigration 
