L* j) % ! ^ 2*. 
V 
Le 
tern 
Virginia 
Rail 
w-bill 
ckoos 
heard, him at frequent intervals during the entire afternoon 
up to 5 o’clock when, as I sailed past his stronghold on 
my way up river he was calling steadily at short, regular 
intervals.L I was surprised to find that his notes varied in 
number, emphasis and form and noted the following on the spots 
Go-co , co- ho-ho- slight but distinct emphasis on last, 
Go-co-co-co- all equally emphasized. 
Go ,co , ho—ho— 
Co—ho—ho— 
I passed within 20 yards of him and at this short 
distance found that the tones of his voice lost wholly the 
soft Cuckoo-like quality which it has when the bird is far 
away and became almost disagreeably hoarse and raucous as 
well as somewhat hollow and vibrating, 
j^A t the head of the Beaver-dam rapid I heard a 
Virginia Ra.il which uttered every few seconds a remarkable 
variation of the cutta cry. Perhaps I should say the cut. 
cry, for this note was invariably repeated from seven to 
fifteen times without any variation whatever (save in the 
number of repetitions) and never without the usual cutta 
addendum. The tone seemed to me less harsh and vibrating 
than usual and I was struck by the resemblance of the notes 
to those of a common call of the Red-wing — the clucking 
call, I mean.j 
Yellow-billed Cuckoos are now more numerous along 
the river that I have ever seen them before, and they seem 
to have driven out all the Black-bills. ^ hear them every 
swinging 
few huhdred yards and see them singing from tree to tree 
