THE GREAT HONEY GUIDE . 
428 
Mr. Yarrell, however, seems to hold rather an opposite opinion, and says that “ the Wry- 
neck is rather solitary in its habits, being very seldom seen associating with, or even near, any 
other bird than its own single partner, and that too bnt for a very limited portion of the 
year.” 
In captivity, the Wryneck is tolerably docile ; and when taken young can be perfectly 
tamed. In some countries it is the fashion to tie a string to the leg of a tame Wryneck and 
take it out for daily exercise for food, letting it run up the trees or on the ground in search of 
insects. The little bird soon becomes accustomed to this kind of life, and when the string is 
pulled returns to its owner, and runs about his clothes until he gives it permission to take 
another excursion. 
The nest of the Wryneck is hardly deserving of that name, being merely composed of 
chips of decaying wood. The eggs are laid in the hollow of a tree, not wholly excavated by 
the bird, as is the case of the woodpeckers, its beak not being sufficiently strong for such a 
task, but adapted to the purpose from some already existing hole. 
From a letter, of a correspondent to Mr. Yarrell, it seems that although the Wryneck 
makes no nest, it does not hesitate in appropriating the deserted home of any other bird which 
it may find in the hollow which it selects for nidification. The bird had chosen a hole in 
an old apple-tree for that purpose, and the eggs were laid upon a mass of hair, moss, and 
fibrous roots, evidently a deserted nest of a redstart. The pertinacity with which the Wry- 
neck adhered to the tree was really extraordinary, for she suffered her nest to be disturbed and 
replaced five times, and to be robbed four times of her eggs before she would finally leave the 
spot. The number of eggs laid by the Wryneck is rather great, as many as ten having often 
been found in a single nest. In the instance just mentioned, no less than twenty-two eggs 
were taken at the four intervals. Their color is beautiful white with a pinky tinge, not unlike 
those of the kingfisher ; and as this pink color is produced by the yolk showing itself through 
the delicate shell, it is, of course, lost when the egg is emptied of its contents. The plumage 
of this little bird, although devoid of brilliant hues, and decked only with brown, black, and 
gray, is really handsome from the manner in which those apparently sombre tints are dis- 
posed. In Yarrell’ s book on birds the markings of the Wryneck are given so concisely that 
they cannot be altered without damage. “The top of the head grayish-brown, barred across 
with streaks of darker brown and white ; neck, back, rump, and upper tail-coverts gray, 
speckled with brown. From the occiput (i. e. back of the head) down the middle line of the back 
of the neck and between the scapularies, is a streak of dark brown mixed with black ; the wings 
brown, speckled with lighter yellow-brown, and a few white spots ; the primary quill-featliers 
barred alternately with pale yellow, brown, and black ; the tertials on the upper surface 
marked with a descending line of black ; upper surface of the tail-feathers mottled with gray 
and brown, and marked with four irregularly transverse bars of black ; chin, throat, ear- 
coverts, and neck, in front, pale yellow-brown with narrow transverse black lines ; breast, belly, 
sides, and under tail-coverts, dull white tinged with yellow-brown, and spotted with black ; 
under surface of tail-feathers pale grayish-brown, speckled and barred with black ; legs, toes, 
and claws brown.” The total length of the adult male bird is about seven inches, and the 
female is a little smaller than her mate. 
CUCKOOS. 
The Cuckoos constitute a large family, containing several smaller groups, and many 
species. Representatives of the groups will be found in the following pages. All these birds 
have a rather long, slender, and somewhat curved beak, which in some species takes a curve 
so decided, that it gives quite a predaceous air to its owner. Examples of the Cuckoo tribe 
are to be found in almost every portion of the globe, and are most plentiful about the tropics. 
The first group is that of which the celebrated Great Honey Guide is our typical 
example. The Honey Guides derive their name from the fact that they are extremely fond of 
wild bees and their honey, and by their eager cries attract keen-eared and sharp-eyed hunters 
