PARROTS, CUCKOOS, AND PLANTAIN-EATERS lor 
alike, resemble the parents, and are black 
likewise. With the cuckoo the case is 
different. The male and female are 
conspicuously different in coloration, the 
former being black, the latter brown. In 
such cases it is the rule for the young 
to wear the livery of the female. If this 
rule were adhered to in the case of the 
cuckoo,. destruction would be more than 
probable, for the mynas would as likely 
as not destroy so outrageous a departure 
from myna' custom as a brown youngster. 
But the koel has proved equal to the occa- 
sion, by the simple expedient of attiring 
the young in the male instead of the 
female livery. Later on in life the rule 
for the exchange of plumage is reversed, 
and the young female doffs the temporary 
black dress of the male for the brown 
one of the adult female, instead of vice 
versd. 
All cuckoos, however, are not para- 
sitic, the species known as L.^RK-heeled 
Cuckoos — from the presence of a long, 
spine-like claw on the hind toe — building 
a nest and hatching theii" own eggs. 
They have a wide range, being found in 
Africa from Egypt to Cape Colony, Mada- 
gascar, India, China, New Guinea, and 
Australia. 
As a rule, the Cuckoos are not 
conspicuously coloured, but some species 
are clad in a livery resplendent with 
metallic colours. These are represented by the Indian and Australian Bronze Cuckoos and 
the African Golden Cuckoos. One of the most beautiful of all is the African Emerald 
Cuckoo, in which the upper-parts are of a vivid emerald-green, whilst the under-parts are 
bright yellow. 
Finally, we must mention the Ground-CUCKOOS, which are comparatively long-legged, 
terrestrial forms, with small wings. One of the best known is an inhabitant of the Southern 
United States, from Texas to New Mexico, Southern Colorado, and California. “ It has obtained 
the name of Rood-runner,” writes Dr. Sharpe, “ from the speed with which it flies over the' 
ground, some idea of which may be gained from a statement of Colonel Stevenson, that, when 
in Southern California, he saw, on two occasions, the ranchmen of that part of the country 
chase one of these birds on horseback for a distance of a mile or more at full speed, when 
the cuckoo, though still in advance, would suddenly stop and fly up among the upper limbs 
of some stunted tree or bush near the roadside, and the rider, having kept the bird in view 
all the way, would dismount and easily take the exhausted bird from its perch alive.” 
That the African PLANTAIN-EATER.S, or TOURACOS, are related to the Cuckoos there can be 
no doubt, although they do not bear any very close superficial resemblance to them. Striking 
in appearance and of beautiful plumage, they owe as much of the interest which now centres 
on them to the chemist as to the ornithologist. Long ago it was noticed that the rich 
crimson colour of the wing-quills disappeared after exposure to a heavy rain, having beer 
Photohy J. T. Newman] [Ber.hamsted 
YOUNG CUCKOO 
A young cuckoo remains in the nest till fully f edged 
