438 
C U C U L U S. 
unknown. On their arrival in our climates they ap¬ 
proach neareft our dwellings; during the reft of their 
ftay they fly about among the woods, the meadows, See. 
and wherever they can difeover nefts to plunder ordepofit 
their egg, or find infedts and fruits. Towards autumn, 
fays Buflon, the adults, and efpecially the females, are 
excellent food, and as fat as they were lean in the 
fpring ; for it is in this feafon only that the proverb, lean 
as a cuckoo , is juft. Their fat is collefted chiefly under 
the neck, and is the mo ft delicate morfel of the bird. 
They are commonly Angle, reftlefs, and perpetually 
changing their place ; and, though they never fly to any 
great diftance, they range over a confiderable tract during 
the courfe of the day. The ancients watched the times 
of the appearance and difappearance of the cuckoo in 
Italy. The vine-dreffers who had not lopped their vines 
before its arrival were reckoned lazy, and held the ob¬ 
ject of public derifion. The by-paffers who faw the 
backward ftate of the vineyard, mocked the owner’s in¬ 
dolence by repeating the call of that bird, which was it- 
felf, and with much propriety, regarded as the emblem 
of floth, fince it difpenfes with the facred obligations of 
nature. It was an ufual exprellion alfo, crafty as a cuckoo , 
(for cunning and indolence may fubfift together;) be- 
caufe, declining the tafle itfelf, it contrives to make other 
birds hatch its eggs. 
2. Cuculus Perfa, the touraco, or crefted African 
cuckoo. This is one of the molt beautiful of the Afri¬ 
can birds ; for, befides that its plumage is brilliant and 
its eyes full of luftre, it has a creft on the head, or rather 
a crown, which confers an air of diftinftion. It is as 
large as the jay ; but its long broad tail feems to increafe 
its bulk : its wings are however very lhort, fcarce'y 
reaching to the origin of the tail. The upper mandible 
is convex, and covered with feathers reflected from the 
forehead, and in which the noftrils are concealed. Its 
eye, which is lively and full of fire, is encircled by a 
fcarlet eye-lid, which has a great number of protuberant 
papillse of the fame colour. The elevated tuft that 
crowns its head is a bunch of briftled feathers, which are 
fine and filky, and conlift of fuch delicate fibres, that the 
whole is tranfparent. The beautiful green which covers 
all the neck, the bread, and the fboulders, is alfo com- 
pofed of fibres of the fame kind, and equally fine and filky. 
There are two other varieties of this fpecies ; the one 
termed the Abyffinian touraco, the fecond the touraco 
from the Cape of Good Hope. The only difference lies 
in the tints, for the bulk of the colours is the fame. 
The Abyffinian bird has a blackifh tuft, compact like a 
lock, and reflected backwards: the feathers on the fore¬ 
head, the throat, and compafs of the neck, are meadow 
green; the bread:, and top of the back, are of the fame 
colour, but with an olive tinge, which melts into a pur¬ 
ple brown, heightened by a fine green glofs ; all the 
back, the coverts of the wings, and their quills next the 
body, and all thofe of the tail, are coloured in the fame 
way ; all the primaries are of a fine crimfon, with a 
black indenting on the fmall webs, near the tip ; the 
under fide is dun grey, flightly fhaded with light grey. 
The touraco of the Cape of Good Hope differs not from 
the Abyffinian one, except that the tuft is of a lighter 
green, and fometimes fringed with, white. The neck is 
of the fame green, which melts on the Ihoulders into a 
darkilh tint, with gloffy green reflections. 
The comm de Buffon had one of thefe birds alive 
•from the Cape, and was allured that it lived upon rice. 
No other food was offered to it at firft, and this it Would 
not touch, but grew famifhed, and, in that extremity, it 
ate its own excrements. During three days, it fubfifted 
only on water and a bit of fugar. But, obferving grapes 
brought to the table, it (hewed a ftrong appetite for 
them ; fome were given to it, which it fwallowed gree¬ 
dily. It difeovered in the fame way a fondnefs for ap¬ 
ples, and afterwards for oranges. From that time it was 
fed on fruit for feveral months. This feemed to be the 
natural food, its curved bill not being in the leaft adapted 
for collecting grain. The bill is wide, and cleft as far 
as under the eyes ; the bird hops, but does not walk; 
its nails are fharp and ftrong, its hold firm ; its toes are 
flout, and inverted with thick feales. It is lively, and 
utters a weak, low, and hoarfe, cry, when it is hungry ; 
but it may be made to repeat it at pleafure, if prompted 
to it by imitation. Several of thefe birds have been 
brought alive to England, the eyes of which appeared 
uncommonly brilliant, and the creft was raifed or de- 
preffed at pleafure. 
3. Cuculus glandarius, the great fpotted cuckoo. 
This fpecies is not entirely foreign to Europe, fince one 
was killed on the rock of Gibraltar. It feems to be mi¬ 
gratory, wintering in Afia or in Africa, and appearing 
fometimes in the fouth of Europe. The principal orna¬ 
ment of this bird is a filky crelt, of bluifh grey, which 
can be ereCted at pleafure as in the touraco ; but in the 
ordinary ftate it lies flat on the head; there is a black 
bar on the eyes, which gives it a marked afpeCt ; brown 
predominates on all the upper parts, including the wings 
and the tail, but the middle quills, and almolt all the 
coverts of the wings, the four lateral pairs of the tail, 
and their fuperior coverts, are terminated with white, 
which forms a pleafing enamel of white and cinereous 
fpots; all the under furface of the body is brown 
orange, bright on the anterior parts, and duller on the 
pofterior ; the bill and legs are black. It is as large as 
a magpie ; the bill fifteen or fixteen lines ; legs fhort ; 
wings not fo long as in the ordinary cuckoo ; the tail 
about eight inches, confiding of ten tapered quills, ar.d 
exceeding the wings about four inches and a half. 
4. Cuculus Capenlis, the Cape cuckoo: a little 
fmaller than the common cuckoo; bill brown; irides 
yellow; upper parts greenifh brown; throat, cheeks, 
fore part of the neck, and upper wing coverts, deep ru¬ 
fous ; tail feathers paler, tipped with white ; the bread, 
and all the under parts white, crolfed with lines of black ; 
legs brown. Inhabits the Cape cf Good Hope, and is 
called Edolio, from its pronouncing that word frequently 
in a low melancholy tone. Voyagers alfo mention ano¬ 
ther variety, which is common to Loango, in Africa. 
This is bigger than the above, but of the fame colour, 
and repeats the word cuckoo like our bird, but in different 
inflexions of voice. It is faid that the male and female 
together go through the eight notes of the gamut; the' 
male, beginning by itfelf, founds the three firft, after 
which he is accompanied by the female through the reft 
of theofilave. 
5. Cuculus Tahitlus, the Otaheitean cuckoo: fize of 
a magpie ; bill (lout, and curved at the point; irides 
pale yellow ; upper parts brown ; the head dallied with 
perpendicular ferruginous ftripes ; the reft of the plu¬ 
mage above tranfverfely barred and blotched; over the 
eye is a white ftreak, and a dalh of the fame along the 
under jaw, ariling at the noftrils; the quills marked 
with ferruginous fpots ; chin and throat white ; fides of 
the neck, breaft, belly, and thighs, white, ftreaked per¬ 
pendicularly with brown ; under tail coverts pale buff; 
the upper ones as the back, reaching to one third of the 
tail, which is crolfed with numerous ferruginous brown 
bars, and tipped with white; legs greenfcfh. Native of 
Otaheite, where it is called areva-reva. It is alfo found 
in fome of the neighbouring ifles, and called tayarabbo. 
6. Cuculus Mindanenlis, the Mindanao cuckoo : larger 
than the common cuckoo ; general colour of the plu¬ 
mage gilded brown, marked with white and rufous 
fpots ; the under parts are white, tranfverfely ftreaked 
with blackifh ; but the neck and throat are pLain brown, 
fpotted with white; tail gilded brown, crolfed with 
tranfverfe rufous bands on each fide the (haft,, and fome 
of the tail feathers tipped with white ; legs and claws 
rey. Found at Mindanao, and other of the Philippine 
(lands.. 
7. Cuculus Scolopaceus, the Indian fpotted cuckoo 
no 
