318 
CUCKOOS 
Iowa, Wise., and s. border of the Great Lakes, and casually to N. Y. 
and Pa. 
Washington, extinct, known only from specimens shot in Sept., 1865. 
Nest, said to be in a hollow cypress or sycamore tree, but no authentic 
account of the nidification of this species has been published. Eggs (laid 
in captivity), white, 1*44 x 1*12. Date, probably lay in June. 
The complete extermination of the Paroquet throughout the greater 
part of its range is due chiefly to four causes : first, it was destructive to 
fruit orchards, and for this reason was killed by agriculturists; second, 
it has been trapped and bagged in enormous numbers by professional 
bird-catchers; third, it has been killed in myriads for its plumage; and, 
fourth, it has been wantonly slaughtered by so-called sportsmen. In 
short, in the present century the Paroquet has always disappeared soon 
after its haunts were invaded by civilized man. At present it it appar- 
ently restricted to southern Florida, and there mainly if not wholly to 
the ‘hammocks’ northeast and east of Lake Okeechobee, where in 
April, 1904, near Taylor Creek, I saw thirteen birds. 
1891. Hasbkouck, E. M., Auk, VIII, 369-379; Butler, A., Ibid., 
1892, IX 49-56 (range). 
XIV. ORDER COCCYGES. CUCKOOS, KINGFISHERS, ETC. 
41. Family Cuculule. Cuckoos, Anis, Etc. (Fig. 53.) 
Only thirty-five of the some one hundred and ninety known species 
of Cuckoos are found in the New World, and they are largely confined 
to the tropics. 
Cuckoos, as a rule, are rather solitary birds, inhabiting wooded 
areas. The Anis, however, are always gregarious and live in open places. 
Their flight is weak, generally from tree to tree, and their feet are largely 
used as a means of progression. Some species hop, others walk, and one 
is celebrated for his speed as a runner. They are possessed of peculiar 
vocal powers, and their strange calls are frequently the origin of their 
popular names. Many species are remarkable for the irregularity of 
their breeding habits. The Old World Cuckoo ( Cuculus canorus), like 
our Cowbird, places its eggs in the nests of other birds, and leaves to 
them the duties of incubation and rearing of the young. The Anis are 
communistic, and build but one nest, in which several females lay and 
share the task of incubation. The smaller species are insectivorous, 
but the larger ones add small reptiles and batrachians to their fare. 
The eggs of all North American species are white or bluish white, and 
are sometimes laid at such widely separated intervals that the same 
nest may contain fresh eggs and young birds. The young are hatched 
naked and the feathers of the juvenal plumage, which is the first to be 
acquired, remain in their sheaths until they are well-grown. 
383. Crotophaga ani Linn. Am. Ads. — Bill much compressed 
vertically, nearly as high as long. Black, feathers of foreparts of the body 
