The Pheasant Cuckoo. BIKDS. The Tacco. 387 
a flat, thin nest, composed of a few twis’s and fragments 
of herbage, upon the horizontal branch of a tree, and 
lays four or five eggs. Upon these the female sits 
with an assiduity which forms a remarkable contrast 
to the desertion of their offspring by the typical Cuckoos; 
she will remain upon her nest until the hand is almost 
in contact with her, and when compelled to quit it by 
the approach of danger, will flutter along the ground 
as if maimed in the wing, in order to entice away the 
intruder. 
THE PHEASAHT CUCKOO {Centropus phnsianus), a 
large and remarkably fine species inhabiting New 
South Wales, is readily distinguished by the great 
length of the claw belonging to the true (or inner) hind 
toe. From this character the name of Lark-heeled 
Cuckoos has been conferred upon the present species 
and its allies. It measures about thirty inches in 
length, of which fully half is occupied by the broad 
and ample tail. Its general colour is a rich brown, 
paler beneath, streaked on the body, and barred on the 
wings and tail, with buff, each streak or bar being 
narrowly edged with black. This bird inhabits swampy 
places among the brushes, where it runs through the 
herbage with great facility. When disturbed, it flies 
up to the low branch of some tree, and thence ascends 
by leaping from branch to branch to the top of the tree, 
whence it flies off to another. Unlike some of the pre- 
ceding species, the Pheasant Cuckoo takes the trouble 
of hatching and rearing its own young, building a large 
nest of dried grasses, usually in the midst of a tuft of 
grass. The nest is domed, and furnished with two 
openings, through one of which the head, and through 
the other the tail of the female protrudes whilst slie is 
engaged in the work of incubation. 
THE SENEGAL LARK-HEELED CUCKOO {Centropus 
senegalensis)^ which appears to inhabit nearly the whole 
of Africa, is not more than sixteen inches in length, 
and has the head, back of the neck, and upper part of 
the back, black ; the rest of the hack and the wings cinna- 
raon-red; the rump and tail feathers blackish, more or 
less streaked transversely with fine huff lines ; the lower 
part of the body is huffy white. As in the preceding- 
species, the shafts of nearly all the feathers are thick, 
stiff, and brilliant, giving a peculiar character to the 
plumage. This bird lives in pairs in the forest, and 
feeds upon locusts and other large insects. It breeds 
in the holes of trees, and the male and female assist 
each other in the task of incubation. The note of 
the male is described by Le Vaillant as resembling the 
words coura-coura-hov}-coura-kow. 
THE RED-WINGED CUCKOO {Centropus mifipennis), 
a common species in India and in the eastern islands, 
is known to the European residents in India as the 
“ Crow Pheasant,” from its presenting a certain resem- 
blance both in appearance and manners to those two 
birds. It resides both in wooded and cultivated 
grounds, and in the open jungles, and feeds principally 
on the ground, walking along somewhat pompously, 
with its ample tail widely spread, and picking up not 
only large insects, but also centipedes, scorpions, and 
even small lizards and snakes. Colonel Sykes found 
in one of these birds a snake eight inches, and a lizard 
thirteen inches in length. The head of the latter was 
in the stomach and partly digested, whilst the body was 
still in the oesophagus. The note of this species is 
described as a monotonous cry of hoot-hoot-hoot, or 
hoop-hoop-hoop. The young bird is said by Mr. Blyth 
to be almost constantly repeating a curious hoarse 
sound “ like a person choking, which,” he says, “ is not 
pleasant to hear.” The nest, which is of very large 
size, and domed, is placed in a thick bush or tree. It 
has a single aperture in the side. 
THE TACCO {Saurothera vetula). — Several American 
species of this famil}’, called Ground Cuckoos by Mr. 
Gray, are distinguished by their long straight bill, which 
is curved only at the point, and denticulated along the 
margin, their long tarsi and their short toes. They are 
thus organized for dwelling more upon the ground than 
most of the other Cuculidte. The present species, 
which is the best known, is an inhabitant of the West 
Indies, and especially of the island of Jamaica, where 
it is tolerably abundant in the woods, and is known as 
the Rain-hird, from its uttering its peculiar cry before 
rain. This bird is about fifteen inches in length, 
including its long wedge-shaped tail. It is of a brown 
colour above, and pale yellowish-brown beneath, with 
the chin and throat nearly white ; all the tail-feathers, 
except the two middle ones, are tipped with white. Its 
food consists of caterpillars and other large insects, and 
of small lizards, snakes, and other animals which it is 
able to overcome. In pursuit of its prey, it runs with 
facility not only on the ground, but also on the trunks 
and branches of trees, the latter being the situation in 
which it most commonly meets with the small lizards on 
which it preys, and it passes with the most astonishing 
facility through the thickest bushes. Its common cry 
resembles the word tacco; but when on the wing, or 
alarmed at any object, it pronounces the syllables cra- 
cra-cra, or qua-qua-qua, in a tone so much resembling 
a sudden burst of laughter, that it is known in some 
places by the name of the Laugher. This species 
builds a nest at the foot of a tree, composing it of dry 
roots, moss, and leaves, and lays four or five eggs. 
SPARRMANN’S HONEY GUIDE {Indicator Spar- 
manni) is of a rusty-gray colour above, having the wings 
brown, with a 3mllow spot at the bend. It is about six 
inches in length, and inhabits the southern parts of 
Africa, where, with some allied species, it is noted for 
its fondness for feeding upon bees, and especially upon 
the contents of their combs. In search of these 
dainties, the Honey Guides seek out the nests of the 
wild bees, which are generally built in holes of trees, 
and endeavour to force their way in; to protect 
them from the stings of the industrious insects whose 
premises they thus invade, they are fui-nished with a 
covei'ing of stiff and hard feathers, and with a skin so 
dense, that Le Vaillant. asserts that it gave him some 
trouble to pierce it with a pin. Nevertheless, they are 
occasionally destroyed during their burglarious pro- 
ceedings by the bees, which then cover up the body 
with a waxen vault to prevent its decomposition ren- 
dering it a nuisance in the nest. By their cries when 
haunting the vicinity of a wild hive, and probably’ 
engaged in capturing the bees as they issue from, or 
return to their home, these birds often lead the Hottentots 
and others to the place; indeed, the older naturalists 
