Brown, Olive or Grayish Brown, and Brown and Gray Sparrowy Birds 
birds look alike. Their haunts are almost identical ; their habits 
are the same ; and, as they usually keep well out of sight, it is 
not surprising if confusion arise. 
Neither cuckoo knows how to build a proper home; a bunch 
of sticks dropped carelessly into the bush, where the hapless 
babies that emerge from the greenish eggs will not have far to 
fall when they tumble out of bed, as they must inevitably do, 
may by courtesy only be called a nest. The cuckoo is said to 
suck the eggs of other birds ; but, surely, such vice is only the 
rarest dissipation. Insects of many kinds and “tent caterpillars” 
chiefly are their chosen food. 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 
(Coccy^us americanus) Cuckoo family 
Called also: RAIN CROW 
Length — n to 1 2 inches. About one-fifth longer than the robin. 
Male and Female — Grayish brown above, with bronze tint in 
feathers. Underneath grayish white. Bill, which is as 
long as head, arched, acute, and more robust than the black- 
billed species, and with lower mandible yellow. Wings 
washed with bright cinnamon-brown.' Tail has outer quills 
black, conspicuously marked with white thumb-nail spots. 
Female larger. 
Range — North America, from Mexico to Labrador. Most common 
in temperate climates. Rare on Pacific slope. 
Migrations — Late April. September. Summer resident. 
,s Kah, k-kuk, k-kuk, k-kuk ! ” like an exaggerated tree-toad’s 
rattle, is a sound that, when first heard, makes you rush out of 
doors instantly to “ name ” the bird. Look for him in the depths 
of the tall shrubbery or low trees, near running water, if there is 
any in the neighborhood, and if you are more fortunate than most 
people, you will presently become acquainted with the yellow- 
billed cuckoo. When seen perching at a little distance, his large, 
slim body, grayish brown, with olive tints above and whitish 
below, can scarcely be distinguished from that of the black-billed 
species. It is not until you get close enough to note the yellow 
bill, reddish-brown wings, and black tail feathers with their white 
“thumb-nail” marks, that you know which cuckoo you are 
