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may be termed, in ejecting from the nest, in which it has been by chance deposited, the natural and proper occupants.

As the young Cuckoo requires a much larger quantity of food than the young of those birds upon whose labour it must depend for support, the requisite quantity might not be obtained were the others permitted to remain in the nest, it is therefore instigated to expel them, and thus secure the undivided attention of its foster parents.

Naturalists have not yet been able to assign any satisfactory reason why the Cuckoo should be absolved from the labours of incubation. It may be that the mature birds are required to execute other important functions during the time that would be thns occupied.

The peculiar call-note of the Cuckoo appears to be affected by the state of the weather; during a long continuance of drought it gradually becomes more and more hoarse, till at length it seems to be uttered with considerable effort, and the first syllable of it is often broken into two or three. This defalcation in the Cuckoo's song was the occasion of the ancient poet, John Heywood, inditing the following epigram:

Use maketh maistry, this hath been said alway,
But all is not alway, as all men do say:

In April, the Koocoo can sing her song by note,
In June, oftime, she cannot sing a note;

At first, Koo coo, Koo coo sing still can she do;

At last, Kooke, Kooke, Kooke; six Kookes to one coo!

The Romans considered the Cuckoo

excellent

eating. Pliny (lib. x. cap. 9) says that no bird can be compared to it for sweetness of flesh.

Of the genus Cuculus many species are enumerated, inhabiting different parts of the Eastern continent, but chiefly Africa, and varying in size from double that of our bird to less than one-half. The plumage of the smaller species is generally of a brilliant glossy green.

The genus is represented in America by that of Coccyzus; the individuals of which are smaller than the true Cuckoos, which they much resemble. The bill is, however, rather larger in proportion; and the tails longer and bare of feathers. Wilson gives the following interesting account of the habits of one of them.

A stranger, says Wilson, who visits the United States for the purpose of examining their natural productions, and passes through our woods in the months of May or June, will sometimes hear, as he traverses the borders of deep, retired, high-timbered hollows, an uncouth guttural sound or note, resembling the syllables kowe, kowe, kowe, kowe, kowe, beginning slowly, but ending so rapidly that the notes seem to run into each other, and vice versa; he will hear this frequently, without being able to discover the bird or animal from which it proceeds, as it is both shy and solitary, seeking always the thickest foliage for concealment. This is the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus carolinensis.) From the imitative sound of its note, it is known in many parts by the name of Cow-bird; it is also called in Virginia the Rain-crow, being observed to be most clamorous immediately before rain.

This species arrives in Pennsylvania, from the south, about the 22nd of April, according to Audubon,

singly; they return southward about the middle of September, flying high in the air and in loose flocks. They resort to the deepest shades of the forest, to the borders of solitary swamps, and apple orchards.

A pair of these birds seem to appropriate certain tracts to themselves, where they rear their young in the midst of peace and plenty. They feed on insects, such as caterpillars and butterflies, as well as on berries of many kinds, evincing a special predilection for the mulberry. In autumn they eat grapes, and I have seen them supporting themselves by a momentary motion of their wings opposite a bunch, as if selecting the ripest, when they would seize it and return to a branch, repeating their visits in this manner until satiated. They now and then descend to the ground to pick up a wood-snail or a beetle.

The nest is simple, flat, composed of a few dry sticks and grass, formed much like that of the common Dove, and, like it, fastened to a horizontal branch. Wilson says that the sticks and twigs of which it is composed are intermixed with green weeds and blossoms of the common maple. On this almost flat bed the eggs, usually three or four in number, are placed; these are of a uniform greenish-blue colour, and of a size proportionable to that of the bird. While the female is sitting, the male is generally not far distant, and gives the alarm by his notes, when any person is approaching. The female precipitates herself to the ground, feigning lameness to draw you away from the spot, fluttering, trailing her wings, and tumbling over in the manner of the Partridge, Wood

cock, and many other species.* We cannot but contrast this affectionate display of parental feeling with the reputed conduct of the European Cuckoo.

The Gilded Cuckoo (Cuculus auratus) is an African species and abounds in Caffraria and Namaqua-land. Le Vaillant calls it Didric, in reference to its peculiar cry. In maĥner and form it is like our own Cuckoo. The female places her eggs in the nests of other birds, and if Le Vaillant's observations may be depended on, she conveys them to the chosen nests in her beak or throat.

This species is about seven inches long; the upper plumage is a rich glossy green with golden reflections; the head is striped with white stripes, with which also the secondary quills and many of the wing-coverts are tipped, the under parts are white.

[merged small][graphic][merged small][merged small]

family is ex

hibited in the

Hornbill Cuc

koos (Crotophagina.) The

bills of Phanicophæus (b)

and Crotophaga (a) are represented in the cut.

We now proceed to the second family of the Scansores, the Ramphastidæ, or Toucans. These birds

* American Ornithology.

are chiefly characterised by the enormous size of their bill, which gives to their appearance a very singular and uncouth character. It is generally as deep at its base as the head itself, and of even greater breadth. It is uniformly of considerable length, in some species equal to that of the whole body, convex and gently arched above, and notched along its margin, which is extremely thin, by a series of irregular crenulated teeth. Although of so large a size it is exceedingly light, being composed entirely of thin cellular plates of

[graphic]

bone, covered on the outside by a horny coating. A second equally remarkable peculiarity occurs in the structure of the tongue, which is of a firm cartilaginous texture, narrow, elongated, and furnished on either side with a continued row of fine slender processes closely approximated to each other, directed forwards, becoming longer towards the tip, and giving to the entire organ the appearance of a well-barbed feather. In the living birds, the bill is generally beautifully coloured with brilliant prismatic reflections; but the colours fade and the reflections go off entirely after

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