THE YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 
297 
colour, than those of the Black-billed Cuckoo. I must not omit to say, that 
during calm and pleasant nights, the well-known notes of this bird fre- 
quently fall on the ear of him who may be reposing in his lonely camp, or 
on that of him who rests on his downy couch. I have often enjoyed this 
monotonous music in the Floridas, during the winter which I spent there. 
The branch, among the foliage of which you see the male and female 
winging their way, is one of the papaw, a tree of small size, seldom more 
than from twenty to thirty -feet in height, with a diameter of from three to 
seven inches. It is found growing in all rich grounds, to which it is peculiar, 
from the southern line of our States to central Pennsylvania, seldom farther 
eastward, here and there only along the alluvial shores of the Ohio and 
Mississippi. In all other places of like nature you may meet with groves 
of papaw. trees, covering an acre or more of ground. The fruit, which is 
represented in the plate, consists of a pulpy and insipid substance, within 
which are found several large, hard, and glossy seeds. The rind is extremely 
thin. The wood is light, soft, brittle, and almost useless. The bark, which 
is smooth, may be torn off from the foot of the tree to the very top, and is 
frequently used for making ropes, after it has been steeped in water suffi- 
ciently to detach the outer part, when the libres are obtained, which, when 
twisted, are found to be nearly as tough and durable as hemp. The 
numerous islands of the Ohio and all the other western rivers are generally 
well stocked with this tree. 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Cuculus carolinensis , Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. iv. p. 13. 
Coccvzus americanus, Bonap. Syn., p. 42. 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus , Nutt. Man., vol. i. p. 551. 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus , Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. i. p. 18; vol. 
v. p. 520. 
Male, 12i, 16. Female, Ilf, 15$. 
Breeds from Texas to Nova Scotia, and throughout the interior to the 
eastern bar of the Rocky Mountains. Common. Many spend the winter 
in the Floridas. 
Adult Male. 
Bill as long as the head, compressed, slightly arched, acute, scarcely more 
robust than in many Sylvias ; upper mandible carinated above, its margins 
acute and entire ; lower mandible carinated beneath, acute. Nostrils basal, 
lateral, linear-elliptical, half closed by a membrane. Feet short ; tarsus 
scutellate before and behind ; toes two before, separated ; two behind, one 
of which is versatile, the sole flat ; claws slender, compressed, arched. 
Plumage blended, slightly glossed. Wings long, the first quill short, the 
Vol. IV. 41 
