82 
CUCULlNiE. CUCULUS. 
acute ; upper mandible with the dorsal line arcuate, the j 
ridge narrow, the edges with a slight sinus close to the de- ' 
clinate tip ; gape-line arcuate. Tongue rather short, slen- j 
der, emarginate, and minutely papillate at the base, with j 
the tip acute, generally slit and lacerate ; oesophagus wide, | 
tapering ; proventriculus rather large ; stomach large, round, ; 
with its muscular coat very thin, and composed of large ? 
flattened fasciculi, the cuticular lining soft and rugous ; in- » 
testine of moderate length, rather wide ; ccnca large, oblong, i 
Nostrils elliptical, with a prominent m^argin. Eyes of mode- 
rate size. Feet very short ; tarsus feathered half-way down, | 
anteriorly broadly scutellate ; toes small, broad beneath, the | 
first very small, the fourth reversed, and longer than the i 
second ; claws rather small, arched, much compressed, late- 
rally grooved, rather acute. Plumage soft and blended; 
wings long, straight, pointed, the first quill a third shorter | 
than the second, the third pointed ; tail long, graduated, of ii 
twelve rounded feathers. I 
The only species which visits this country is remarkable j 
for depositing its eggs singly in the nests of other birds. ,! 
Several other species are suspected of doing the same ; but !; 
the habit is not general in this family, probably not even in li 
the genus Cuculus. j 
37. Cuculus canorus. Grey Cuckoo. 
In both sexes the upper parts bluish-grey, the fore part and 
sides of the neck ash-grey, the breast and sides of the body l 
bluish-white, transversely barred with brownish-black, the ? 
quills dusky-brown, tinged externally with grey, their inner j 
webs barred with white ; the tail-feathers greyish-black, ^ 
spotted along the shafts and on the inner web, and tipped 
with white. Young with the upper parts transversely barred j 
with light red and clove-brown, the lower with brownish- ! 
white and dusky. I 
Male, 14, 23, yf, |, -if, 
This elegantly-formed and agreeably coloured bird, which 
visits us in the end of April and departs in July or August, i 
is remarkable for its well-known cry, resembling the syllables I 
Coo-coo, and its habit of depositing its eggs in the nests of 
the Pipit, and other small birds. It is distributed over the 
whole country, being met with in the most northern parts, 
and frequents parks and plantations bordered with fields and ^ 
