Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/561

 CUCKOO 557 upper parts, is a deep bluish gray ; the under parts and the axillary feathers are white with distinct black bars; the quills are blackish gray, the inner webs with transverse white bars ; the tail is darker, approaching to black at the end, and often with a green gloss, tipped with white, and each feather marked along the shaft with triangular white spots, which, meeting similar spots on the outer feathers, give an almost barred appearance to the tail; the feet are gamboge-yellow, and the bill black. The length of the bird is 14 in., and the extent of wings 25 in. The young birds are of a brown tint, with reddish brown bars and white markings, the white of the under parts being barred with black. The female very closely resembles the male. The cuckoo is associated with the return of sunny skies and the renewal of vegetation, and is a most welcome "messenger of spring;" it ar- rives from southern Europe in Great Britain in April, and generally departs in August. It is very generally distributed over Europe, de- creasing in numbers toward the north ; accord- ing to Temminck, it extends its migrations to northern Africa. The most singular habit of the cuckoo is that it deposits its eggs in the nests of other birds, leaving the care of the young entirely to the foster parents thus se- lected ; the latter adopt the young cuckoo as their own, often to the destruction of their proper offspring, which are thrust out of the nest by the usurping stranger. The reason of this departure from the usual habit of birds is not well ascertained ; it is common in the genus euculus, and is also practised by our cow bird (moloihrm pecoris, Swains.). (See Cow BIED.) The cuckoo selects the nest of a bird smaller than itself, and of a great variety of species, as the warblers, sparrows, finches, and larks, and in it deposits a single egg, very small compared to the size of the bird ; it is believed by Mon- tague and others that the female has the power of retaining the egg in the oviduct until she can find a nest suitable for its reception ; she lays several in the course of the season. The young cuckoo is said to eject its companions from the nest by lifting them out on its shoul- ders; from this habit has arisen the German saying, "as ungrateful as a cuckoo." The well known notes of this bird, as heard in the breeding season, resemble very much its name ; the song is loud and joyful, and con- fined to the males, and is silent before their departure. Its food consists of the larvae of insects and caterpillars; before swallowing the latter it cuts off the hinder end and frees the body from the intestinal canal by re- peated jerks with its sharp bill. The males are more numerous than the females, and are bold and fierce, and rarely kept as pets. In autumn they are fat and esteemed as food ; the ancients were very partial to them, and their flesh was supposed to have valuable medicinal properties. The American cuckoos belong to the subfamily coccyzince, or ground cuckoos, and to the genus coccyzus. In this genus the bill is long and rather slender, and curved ; the nostrils are oval; the third and fourth quills are the longest; the tail is long, broad, and rounded on the sides; the tarsi are shorter than the middle toe, and naked ; the toes are unequal, and the claws long, compressed, curved, and acute. Three species are describ- ed belonging to North and Central America, though a few stragglers have occasionally been seen in Europe ; they are shy birds, frequent- ing the dense woods and solitary swamps. I. The yellow-billed cuckoo (0. Americanus, Bonap.) has a length of 12| in., and an ex- tent of wings of 16 in. ; the bill is an inch long, for the most part yellow; the iris is hazel; the general color of the upper parts, with the wing coverts and two middle tail feathers, is light greenish brown, deeper an- teriorly; the other tail feathers black, with a broad white space at the end of the three out- ermost, the fourth white on the outer web; the primaries have their inner webs brownish orange; the under parts are grayish white. Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzua Americanus). The female differs little from the male. Its notes resemble the word "cow, cow," re- peated several times with increasing rapidity ; hence one of its names, cow bird ; it is also called rain crow and coucou. It is found in all parts of the United States, though nowhere in abundance. Its food consists of caterpillars, insects, wood snails, berries (especially the mulberry), and grapes; it sucks the eggs of other birds, and itself falls a victim to many species of hawks. Its flight is rapid, but the gait on the ground is very awkward ; its favor- ite retreat is the thickest foliage. This bird builds its nest and rears its young in the usual manner ; the flat nest is very simply composed of a few dry sticks and grass, on a horizontal branch of a low tree ; the eggs are four or five, of a bright green color. It migrates south- ward, generally beyond the limits of the United States, as cold weather approaches, in flocks and high in the air ; single birds begin to enter our borders 'early in March, arriving as far as New York early in May. II. The black-billed cuckoo (#. erythrophthalmus, Bonap.) is a lit-