the Cuckow, in ornithology, a genus plate CLI, belonging to the order of picæ: the characters of which are: The bill is smooth, and more or less bending; the nostrils are bounded by a small rim; the tongue is short and pointed; the feet and toes formed for climbing. The most remarkable species are:

1. The canorus, or common cuckow, weighs about five ounces; and is in length 14 inches, in breadth 25. The bill is black, and about two thirds of an inch in length. The head, hind part of the neck, coverts of the wings and rump, are of a dove colour; darker on the head and paler on the rump. The throat and upper part of the neck are of a pale grey; the breast and belly white, crossed elegantly with undulated lines of black. The tail consists of ten feathers of unequal lengths; the two middle tail-feathers are black tipped with white; the others are marked with white spots on each side their shafts. The legs are short; and the toes disposed two backwards and two forwards, like those of the wood-pecker, though it is never observed to run up the sides of trees. The female differs in some respects. The neck before and behind is of a brownish-red; the tail barred with the same colour and black, and spotted on each side the shaft with white. The young birds are brown mixed with black, and in that state have been described by some authors as old ones.

This bird appears in our country early in the spring, and makes the shortest stay with us of any bird of passage. It is compelled here, as Mr Stillingfleet observes, by that constitution of the air which causes the fig-tree put forth its fruit: though it has been supposed that some of these birds do not quit this island during the winter; but that they seek shelter in hollow trees and lie torpid, unless animated by unusually warm weather. Mr Pennant gives two instances of their being heard in February; one in 1771, in the end of that month; the other in 1769, on the 4th day; but after that they were heard no more, being probably chilled again into torpidity. There is a remarkable coincidence between the song of these birds and the mackerels continuing in full roe; that is, from about the middle of April to the latter end of June. The cuckow is silent for some time after his arrival; his note is a call to love, and used only by the male, who sits perched generally on some dead tree or bare bough, and repeats his song, which he loses as soon as the amorous season is over. His note is so uniform, that his name in all languages seems to have been derived from it; and in all countries it is used in the same reproachful sense:

The plain-song cuckow grey, Whose note fall many a man doth mark, And dares not answer nay.

Shakespeare.

The reproach seems to arise from the cuckow's making use of the bed or nest of another to deposit its eggs in, leaving the care of its young to an improper parent; On the natural history of this singular bird, we have a very curious paper by Mr Jenner, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1788†. The first appearance of cuckoos in this country, as already observed, is about the middle of April; (the 17th, according to Mr Jenner, whose observations were made in Gloucestershire). The song of the male, which is well known, soon proclaims its arrival. The song of the female (if the peculiar notes of which it is composed may be so called) is widely different, and has been so little attended to, that perhaps few are acquainted with it: the cry of the dab-chick bears some resemblance to it.

Unlike the generality of birds, cuckoos do not pair. When a female appears on the wing, she is often attended by two or three males, who seem to be earnestly contending for her favours. From the time of her appearance till after the middle of summer the nests of the birds selected to receive her egg are to be found in great abundance; but, like the other migrating birds, she does not begin to lay till some weeks after her arrival.

It is on all hands allowed, that the cuckow does not hatch its own eggs; for which different reasons have been given, as will be afterwards noticed. The hedge-sparrow, the water-wagtail, the titlark, the redbreast, the yellow hammer, the green linnet, or the whinchat, is generally the nurse of the young cuckow; but Buffon enumerates 20 sorts of nests at least in which they have deposited their eggs. It may be supposed, that the female cuckow lays her egg in the absence of the bird in whose nest she intends to deposit; as it has been known, that on sight of one of these a redbreast and its mate jointly attacked her on approaching the nest, putting her to flight; and so effectually drove her away, that she did not dare to return. Among the birds above mentioned, it generally, according to Mr Jenner's observations, selects the three first, but shows a much greater partiality to the hedge-sparrow. This last commonly takes up four or five days in laying her eggs. During this time (generally after she has laid one or two) the cuckow contrives to deposit her egg among the rest, leaving the future care of it entirely to the hedge-sparrow. This intrusion often occasions some discomposure; for the old hedge-sparrow at intervals, whilst she is sitting, not unfrequently throws out some of her own eggs, and sometimes injures them in such a way that they become addle; so that it more frequently happens that only two or three hedge-sparrows eggs are hatched with the cuckow's than otherwise. But whether this be the case or not, she sits the same length of time as if no foreign egg had been introduced, the cuckow's egg requiring no longer incubation than her own.

When the hedge-sparrow has sat her usual time, and disengaged the young cuckow and some of her own offspring from the shell*, her own young ones, and any of her eggs that remain unhatched, are soon turned out, the young cuckow remaining possessor of the nest, and sole object of her future care. The young birds are not previously killed, nor are the eggs demolished; but all are left to perish together, either entangled about the bush which contains the nest, or lying on the ground under it.

"The early fate of the young hedge-sparrows (Mr Jenner observes) is a circumstance that has been noticed by others, but attributed to wrong causes. A variety of conjectures have been formed upon it. Some have supposed the parent cuckow the author of their destruction; while others, as erroneously, have pronounced them imothered by the disproportionate size of their fellow-neighbouring. Now the cuckow's egg being not much larger than the hedge-sparrow's (as I shall more fully point out hereafter), it necessarily follows, that at first there can be no great difference in the size of the birds just hatched from the shell. Of the fallacy of the former assertion also I was some years ago convinced, by having found that many cuckow's eggs were hatched in the nests of other birds after the old cuckow had disappeared, and by seeing the same fate then attend the nestling sparrows as during the appearance of old cuckoos in this country. But before I proceed to the facts relating to the death of the young sparrows, it will be proper to lay before you some examples of the incubation of the egg, and the rearing of the young cuckow; since even the well-known fact, that this business is intrusted to the care of other birds, has been controverted by an author who has lately written on this subject†; and since, as it is a fact so much out of the ordinary course of nature, it may still probably be disbelieved by others.

"Example 1. The titlark is frequently selected by the cuckow to take charge of its young one; but as it is a bird less familiar than many that I have mentioned, its nest is not so often discovered. I have, nevertheless, had several cuckow's eggs brought to me that were found in titlarks nests, and had one opportunity of seeing the young cuckow in the nest of this bird. I saw the old birds feed it repeatedly; and, to satisfy myself that they were really titlarks, shot them both, and found them to be so.

"Example 2. A cuckow laid her egg in a water-wagtail's nest in the thatch of an old cottage. The wagtail sat her usual time, and then hatched all the eggs but one; which, with all the young ones except the cuckow, was turned out of the nest. The young birds, consisting of five, were found upon the rafter that projected from under the thatch, and with them was the egg not in the least injured. On examining the egg, I found the young wagtail it contained quite perfect, and just in such a state as birds are when ready to be disengaged from the shell. The cuckow was reared by the wagtails till it was nearly capable of flying, when it was killed by an accident.

"Example 3. A hedge-sparrow built her nest in a hawthorn bush in a timber-yard. After she had laid two eggs, a cuckow dropped in a third. The sparrow continued laying as if nothing had happened, till she had laid five, her usual number, and then sat.

"June 20, 1786. On inspecting the nest, I found that the bird had hatched this morning, and that everything but the young cuckow was thrown out. Under the nest I found one of the young hedge-sparrows dead, and one egg by the side of the nest entangled with the coarse woody materials that formed its outside covering. On examining the egg, I found one end of the shell..." shell a little cracked, and could see that the sparrow it contained was yet alive. It was then restored to the nest, but in a few minutes was thrown out. The egg being again suspended by the outside of the nest, was saved a second time from breaking. To see what would happen if the cuckow was removed, I took out the cuckow, and placed the egg containing the hedge-sparrow in the nest in its stead. The old birds, during this time, flew about the spot, showing signs of great anxiety; but when I withdrew, they quickly came to the nest again. On looking into it in a quarter of an hour afterwards, I found the young one completely hatched, warm, and lively. The hedge-sparrows were suffered to remain undisturbed with their new charge for three hours (during which time they paid every attention to it), when the cuckow was again put into the nest. The old sparrows had been so much disturbed by these intrusions, that for some time they showed an unwillingness to come to it. However, at length they came; and on examining the nest again in a few minutes, I found the young sparrow was tumbled out. It was a second time restored, but again experienced the same fate.

"From these experiments, and supposing, from the feeble appearance of the young cuckow just disengaged from the shell, that it was utterly incapable of displacing either the egg or the young sparrows, I was induced to believe that the old sparrows were the only agents in this seeming unnatural business. But I afterwards clearly perceived the cause of this strange phenomenon, by discovering the young cuckow in the act of displacing its fellow-nestlings, as the following relation will fully evince.

"June 18. 1787, I examined the nest of a hedge-sparrow, which then contained a cuckow's and three hedge-sparrow's eggs. On inspecting it the day following, I found the bird had hatched, but that the nest now contained only a young cuckow and one young hedge-sparrow. The nest was placed so near the extremity of a hedge, that I could distinctly see what was going forward in it; and, to my astonishment, saw the young cuckow, though so newly hatched, in the act of turning out the young hedge-sparrow.

"The mode of accomplishing this was very curious. The little animal, with the affluence of its rump and wings, contrived to get the bird upon its back; and making a lodgement for the burden by elevating its elbows, clambered backward with it up the side of the nest till it reached the top; where resting for a moment, it threw off its load with a jerk, and quite disengaged it from the nest. It remained in this situation a short time, feeling about with the extremities of its wings, as if to be convinced whether the business was properly executed, and then dropped into the nest again. With these (the extremities of its wings) I have often seen it examine, as it were, an egg and nestling before it began its operations; and the nice sensibility which these parts appeared to possess, seemed sufficiently to compensate the want of sight, which as yet it was destitute of. I afterwards put in an egg; and this, by a similar process, was conveyed to the edge of the nest and thrown out. These experiments I have since repeated several times in different nests, and have always found the young cuckow disposed to act in the same manner. In climbing up the nest, it sometimes drops its burden, and thus is foiled in its endeavours; but, after a little respite, the work is resumed, and goes on almost incessantly till it is effected. It is wonderful to see the extraordinary exertions of the young cuckow, when it is two or three days old, if a bird be put into the nest with it that is too weighty for it to lift out. In this state it seems ever restless and uneasy. But this disposition for turning out its companions begins to decline from the time it is two or three till it is about twelve days old; when, as far as I have hitherto seen, it ceases. Indeed, the disposition for throwing out the egg appears to cease a few days sooner; for I have frequently seen the young cuckow, after it had been hatched nine or ten days, remove a nestling that had been placed in the nest with it, when it suffered an egg, put there at the same time, to remain unmolested. The singularity of its shape is well adapted to these purposes; for, different from other newly-hatched birds, its back, from the scapula downwards, is very broad, with a considerable depression in the middle. This depression seems formed by nature for the design of giving a more secure lodgement to the egg of the hedge-sparrow or its young one when the young cuckow is employed in removing either of them from the nest. When it is about 12 days old, this cavity is quite filled up, and then the back assumes the shape of nestling birds in general.

"Having found that the old hedge-sparrow commonly throws out some of her own eggs after her nest has received the cuckow's, and not knowing how she might treat her young ones if the young cuckow was deprived of the power of disposing of them of the nest, I made the following experiment.

"July 9. A young cuckow, that had been hatched by a hedge-sparrow about four hours, was confined in the nest in such a manner that it could not possibly turn out the young hedge-sparrows which were hatched at the same time, though it was almost incessantly making attempts to effect it. The consequence was, the old birds fed the whole alike, and appeared in every respect to pay the same attention to their own young as to the young cuckow, until the 13th, when the nest was unfortunately plundered.

"The smallness of the cuckow's egg, in proportion to the size of the bird, is a circumstance that hitherto, I believe, has escaped the notice of the ornithologist. So great is the disproportion, that it is in general smaller than that of the house-sparrow; whereas the difference in the size of the birds is nearly as five to one. I have used the term in general, because eggs produced at different times by the same bird vary very much in size. I have found a cuckow's egg to light that it weighed only 43 grains, and one so heavy that it weighed 55 grains. The colour of the cuckow's eggs is extremely variable. Some, both in ground and penciling, very much resemble the house-sparrow's; some are indistinctly covered with brown-coloured spots; and others are marked with lines of black, resembling, in some measure, the eggs of the yellow hammer.

"The circumstance of the young cuckow's being destined by nature to throw out the young hedge-sparrows, seems to account for the parent cuckow's dropping her egg in the nests of birds so small as those I have particularized. If she were to do this in the nest of a bird which produced a large egg, and consequently, quently a large nestling, the young cuckow would probably find an insurmountable difficulty in solely possessing the nest, as its exertions would be unequal to the labour of turning out the young birds. Besides, though many of the larger birds might have fed the nestling cuckow very properly had it been committed to their charge, yet they could not have suffered their own young to have been sacrificed for the accommodation of the cuckow in such great number as the smaller ones, which are so much more abundant; for though it would be a vain attempt to calculate the numbers of nestlings destroyed by means of the cuckow, yet the slightest observation would be sufficient to convince us that they must be very large."

Here Mr Jenner remarks, that though nature permits the young cuckow to make this great waste, yet the animals thus destroyed are not thrown away rendered useless. At the season when this happens, great numbers of tender quadrupeds and reptiles are seeking provision; and if they find the callow nestlings which have fallen victims to the young cuckow, they are furnished with food well adapted to their peculiar state.

It appears a little extraordinary, that two cuckow's eggs should ever be deposited in the same nest, as the young one produced from one of them must inevitably perish; yet two instances of this kind fell under our author's observation, one of which he thus relates:

"June 27, 1787. Two cuckows and a hedge-sparrow were hatched in the same nest this morning; one hedge-sparrow's egg remained unhatched. In a few hours after, a contest began between the cuckows for the possession of the nest, which continued undetermined till the next afternoon, when one of them, which was somewhat superior in size, turned out the other, together with the young hedge-sparrow and the unhatched egg. This contest was very remarkable. The combatants alternately appeared to have the advantage, as each carried the other several times nearly to the top of the nest, and then sunk down again, oppressed by the weight of its burden; till at length, after various efforts, the stronger prevailed, and was afterwards brought up by the hedge-sparrows."

But the principal circumstance that has agitated the mind of the naturalist respecting the cuckow is, Why, like other birds, it should not build a nest, incubate its eggs, and rear its own young?

There is no apparent reason, Mr Jenner thinks, why this bird, in common with others, should not perform all these several offices; for it is in every respect perfectly formed for collecting materials and building a nest. Neither its external shape nor internal structure prevent it from incubation; nor is it by any means incapacitated from bringing food to its young. It would be needless to enumerate the various opinions of authors on this subject from Aristotle to the present time. Those of the ancients appear to be either visionary or erroneous; and the attempts of the moderns towards its investigation have been confined within very narrow limits: for they have gone but little further in their researches than to examine the constitution and structure of the bird; and having found it possessed of a capacious stomach with a thin external covering, concluded that the pressure upon this part, in a fitting posture, prevented incubation. They have not considered that many of the birds which incubate have stomachs analogous to those of cuckoos. The stomach of the owl, for example, is proportionally capacious, and is almost as thinly covered with external integuments. Nor have they considered, that the stomachs of nestlings are always much distended with food; and that this very part, during the whole time of their confinement to the nest, supports in a great degree the weight of the whole body; whereas, in a fitting bird, it is not nearly so much pressed upon, for the breast in that case fills up chiefly the cavity of the nest; for which purpose, from its natural convexity, it is admirably well fitted.

These observations may be sufficient to show, that the cuckow is not rendered incapable of fitting through any peculiarity either in the situation or formation of the stomach; yet, as a proof still more decisive, our observer adduces the following fact.

"In the summer of the year 1786, I saw, in the nest of a hedge-sparrow, a cuckow, which, from its size and plumage, appeared to be nearly a fortnight old. On lifting it up in the nest, I observed two hedge-sparrows eggs under it. At first I supposed them part of the number which had been sat upon by the hedge-sparrow with the cuckow's egg; and that they had become addle, as birds frequently futter such eggs to remain in their nests with their young; but on breaking one of them I found it contained a living fetus: so that of course these eggs must have been laid several days after the cuckow was hatched; as the latter now completely filled up the nest, and was by this peculiar incident performing the part of a fitting-bird. At this time I was unacquainted with the fact, that the young cuckow turned out the eggs of the hedge-sparrow; but it is reasonable to conclude, that it had lost the disposition for doing this when these eggs were deposited in the nest.

"Having under my inspection, in another hedge-sparrow's nest, a young cuckow about the same size as the former, I procured two wagtails eggs which had been sat upon a few days, and had them immediately conveyed to the spot, and placed under the cuckow. On the ninth day after the eggs had been in this situation, the person appointed to superintend the nest (as it was some distance from the place of my residence) came to inform me that the wagtails were hatched. On going to the place, and examining the nest, I found nothing in it but the cuckow and the shells of the wagtail's eggs. The fact, therefore, of the birds being hatched, I do not give you as coming immediately under my own eye; but the testimony of the person appointed to watch the nest was corroborated by that of another witness."

In considering to what causes may be attributed the singularities of the cuckow, Mr Jenner suggests the following as the most probable: "The short residence this bird is allowed to make in the country where it is destined to propagate its species; and the call that nature has upon it, during that short residence, to produce a numerous progeny." The cuckow's first appearance here is about the middle of April, commonly on the 17th. Its egg is not ready for incubation till some weeks after its arrival, seldom before the middle of May. A fortnight is taken up by the fitting-bird in hatching the egg. The young bird generally continues three weeks in the nest before it flies, and the foster-parents feed it more than five weeks after this period; so that if a cuckow should be ready with an egg much sooner than the time pointed out, not a single nestling, even one of the earliest, would be fit to provide for itself before its parent would be instinctively directed to seek a new residence, and be thus compelled to abandon its young one; for old cuckows take their final leave of this country the first week in July.

"Had nature allowed the cuckow to have staid here as long as some other migrating birds, which produce a single set of young ones (as the swift or nightingale, for example), and had allowed her to have reared as large a number as any bird is capable of bringing up at one time, these might not have been sufficient to have answered her purpose; but by sending the cuckow from one nest to another, she is reduced to the same state as the bird whose nest we daily rob of an egg, in which case the stimulus for incubation is suspended. Of this we have a familiar example in the common domestic fowl. That the cuckow actually lays a great number of eggs, dissection seems to prove very decisively. Upon a comparison I had an opportunity of making between the ovarium, or racemus vitellorum, of a female cuckow, killed just as she had begun to lay, and of a pullet killed in the same state, no essential difference appeared. The uterus of each contained an egg perfectly formed, and ready for expulsion; and the ovarium exhibited a large cluster of eggs, gradually advanced from a very diminutive size to the greatest the yolk acquires before it is received into the oviduct. The appearance of one killed on the third of July was very different. In this I could distinctly trace a great number of the membranes which had discharged yolks into the oviduct; and one of them appeared as if it had parted with a yolk the preceding day. The ovarium still exhibited a cluster of enlarged eggs, but the most forward of them was scarcely larger than a mustard-seed.

"I would not be understood to advance, that every egg which swells in the ovarium at the approach or commencement of the propagating season is brought to perfection; but it appears clearly, that a bird, in obedience to the dictates of her own will, or to some hidden cause in the animal economy, can either retard or bring forward her eggs. Besides the example of the common fowl above alluded to, many others occur. If we destroy the nest of a blackbird, a robin, or almost any small bird, in the spring, when she has laid her usual number of eggs, it is well known to every one who has paid any attention to inquiries of this kind, in how short a space of time she will produce a fresh set. Now, had the bird been suffered to have proceeded without interruption in her natural course, the eggs would have been hatched, and the young ones brought to a state capable of providing for themselves, before she would have been induced to make another nest, and excited to produce another set of eggs from the ovarium. If the bird had been destroyed at the time she was sitting on her first laying of eggs, dissection would have shown the ovarium containing a great number in an enlarged state, and advancing in the usual progressive order. Hence it plainly appears, that birds can keep back or bring forward (under certain limitations) their eggs at any time during the season appointed for them to lay; but the cuckow, not being subject to the common interruptions, goes on laying from the time she begins till the eve of her departure from this country: for although old cuckows in general take their leave the first week in July (and I never could see one after the 5th day of that month, though I conceive it possible that here and there a straggling cuckow may be seen after this time); yet I have known an instance of an egg's being hatched in the nest of an hedge-sparrow so late as the 15th. And a farther proof of their continuing to lay till the time of their leaving us may, I think, be fairly deduced from the appearances on dissection of the female cuckow above mentioned, killed on the 3rd of July."

Among the many peculiarities of the young cuckow, there is one that shows itself very early. Long before it leaves the nest, it frequently, when irritated, assumes the manner of a bird of prey, looks ferocious, throws itself back, and pecks at any thing presented to it with great vehemence, often at the same time making a chuckling noise like a young hawk. Hence probably the vulgar opinion, that this bird changes into a hawk and devours its nurse on quitting its nest; whence the French proverb, "Ingrat comme un coucou." Sometimes, when disturbed in a smaller degree, it makes a kind of hissing noise, accompanied with a heaving motion of the whole body.

The growth of the young cuckow is uncommonly rapid. Its chirp is plaintive, like that of the hedge-sparrow; but the sound is not acquired from the foster-parent, as it is the same whether it be reared by the hedge-sparrow or any other bird. It never acquires the adult note during its stay in this country.

The stomachs of young cuckows contain a great variety of food. On dissecting one that was brought up by wagtails, and fed by them at the time it was shot (though it was nearly of the size and fulness of plumage of the parent-bird), Mr Jenner found in its stomach the following substances: Flies and beetles of various kinds; small snails with their shells unbroken; grasshoppers; caterpillars; part of a horsebean; a vegetable substance, resembling bits of tough grass, rolled into a ball; and the seeds of a vegetable that resembled those of the goose-grass. In the stomach of one fed by hedge-sparrows, the contents were almost entirely vegetable; such as wheat, small vetches, &c. "But this (says our author) was the only instance of the kind I had ever seen, as these birds in general feed the young cuckow with scarcely anything but animal food. However, it served to clear up a point which before had somewhat puzzled me; for having found the cuckow's egg in the nest of a green-linnet, which begins very early to feed its young with vegetable food, I was apprehensive, till I saw this fact, that this bird would have been an unfit foster-parent for the young cuckow.

"The titlark, I observe, feeds it principally with grasshoppers.

"But the most singular substance, so often met with in the stomachs of young cuckows, is a ball of hair curiously wound up. I have found it of various sizes, from that of a pea to that of a small nutmeg. It seems to be composed chiefly of horse hairs; and from the resemblance it bears to the inside covering of the nest, nest, I conceive the bird swallows it while a nestling. In the stomachs of old cuckoos are often seen masses of hair; but these had evidently once formed a part of the hairy caterpillar, which the cuckow often takes for its food."

There seems to be no precise time fixed for the departure of young cuckoos. Mr Jenner believes they go off in succession, probably as soon as they are capable of taking care of themselves; for although they stay here till they become nearly equal in size and growth of plumage to the old cuckow, yet in this very state the fostering care of the hedge-sparrow is not withdrawn from them. "I have frequently (says he) seen the young cuckow of such a size that the hedge-sparrow has perched on its back, or half-expanded wing, in order to gain sufficient elevation to put the food into its mouth. At this advanced stage, I believe that young cuckoos procure some food for themselves; like the young rook, for instance, which in part feeds itself, and is partly fed by the old ones, till the approach of the pairing season. If they did not go off in succession, it is probable we should see them in large numbers by the middle of August; for as they are to be found in great plenty when in a nestling state, they must now appear very numerous, since all of them must have quitted the nest before this time. But this is not the case; for they are not more numerous at any season than the parent-birds are in the months of May and June.

"The same instinctive impulse which directs the cuckow to deposit her eggs in the nests of other birds, directs her young one to throw out the eggs and young of the owner of the nest. The scheme of nature would be incomplete without it; for it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the little birds destined to find succour for the cuckow, to find it also for their own young ones after a certain period; nor would there be room for the whole to inhabit the nest."

It is supposed, that there are more male cuckoos than females; since two are often seen in dispute where a third has been in sight; which, no doubt, was of the opposite sex. Mr Pennant observed, that five male birds were caught in a trap in one season; and Mr Latham says, that "out of at least half a dozen that I have attended to, my chance has never directed me to a female; and it is to be wished, that future observers may determine whether our observations have rise only in chance, or are founded on the general circumstance." He believes that the male birds are more liable to be shot, their note directing the gunner where to take aim, while the female is secured by her silence.

Cuckoos may be, and often are, brought up tame, so as to become familiar. They will eat in this state bread and milk, fruits, insects, eggs, and flesh either cooked or raw; but in a state of nature, I believe, chiefly live on caterpillars; which, in the few I have observed, were all of the smooth kind; others have found vegetable matter, beetles, and small stones. When fat, they are said to be as good eating as a land rail. The French and Italians eat them to this day. The ancient Romans admired them greatly as food: Pliny says that there is no bird which can be compared to them for delicacy.

In migrating, the major part of these birds are supposed to go into Africa, since they are observed to visit the island of Malta twice in a year, in their passage backwards and forwards, as is supposed, to that part of the world. They are well known also at Aleppo. To the north, it is said to be common in Sweden; but not to appear so early by a month as with us. Russia is not deficient of this bird; and Mr Latham has seen a specimen brought from Kamtschatka, now in the possession of Sir Joseph Banks.

2. The Americanus, or cuckow of Carolina. It is about the size of a blackbird, the upper mandible of the bill black, the lower yellow; the large wing-feathers are reddish; the rest of the wing, and all the upper part of the body, head and neck, is of an ash-colour; all the under part of the body, from the bill to the tail, white; the tail long and narrow, composed of six long and four shorter feathers; their legs short and strong. Their note is very different from the cuckow of this country, and not so remarkable to be taken notice of. It is a solitary bird, frequenting the darkest recesses of woods and shady thickets. They retire on the approach of winter.

3. The indicator, or honey-guide, is a native of Africa. The following description is given of it by Dr Sparrow in the Philosophical Transactions for 1777. "This curious species of cuckow is found at a considerable distance from the Cape of Good Hope, in the interior parts of Africa, being entirely unknown at that settlement. The first place I heard of it was in a wood called the Groot-waader's Bosch, 'the Grand-father's Wood,' situated in a desert near the river which the Hottentots call T'kau't'kai. The Dutch settlers thereabouts have given this bird the name of honeyxer, or 'honey-guide,' from its quality of discovering wild honey to travellers. Its colour has nothing striking or beautiful. Its size is considerably smaller than that of our cuckow in Europe; but in return, the instinct which prompts it to seek its food in a singular manner is truly admirable. Not only the Dutch and Hottentots, but likewise a species of quadruped named ratel (probably a new species of badger), are frequently conducted to wild bee-hives by this bird, which, as it were, pilots them to the very spot. The honey being its favourite food, its own interest prompts it to be instrumental in robbing the hive, as some scraps are commonly left for its support. The morning and evening are its times of feeding, and it is then heard calling in a shrill tone, cherr, cherr; which the honey-hunters carefully attend to as the summons to the chase. From time to time they answer with a soft whistle; which the bird hearing, always continues its note. As soon as they are in sight of each other, the bird gradually flutters toward the place where the hive is situated, continually repeating its former call of cherr, cherr; nay, if it should happen to have gained a considerable way before the men (who may easily be hindered in the pursuit by bushes, rivers, or the like), it returns to them again, and redoubles its note, as it were to reproach them with their inactivity. At last the bird is observed to hover for a few moments over a certain spot, and then silently retiring to a neighbouring bush or resting-place, the hunters are sure of finding the bees nest in that identical spot; whether it be in a tree or in the crevice of a rock, or (as is most commonly the case) in the earth. Whilst the hunters are busy in taking the honey, the bird is seen looking on attentively to what is going forward, and waiting for its share of the spoil. The bee-hunters never fail to leave a small portion for their conductor; but commonly take care not to leave so much as would satisfy its hunger. The bird's appetite being whetted by this parimony, it is obliged to commit a second treason, by discovering another bee's nest, in hopes of a better salary. It is further observed, that the nearer the bird approaches the hidden hive, the more frequently it repeats its call, and seems the more impatient. I have had frequent opportunities of seeing this bird, and have been witness to the destruction of several republics of bees by means of its treachery. I had, however, but two opportunities of shooting it, which I did to the great indignation of my Hottentots. It is about seven inches in length, and is of a rusty brown colour on the back, with a white breast and belly." A nest which was shown to Dr Sparrowman for that of this bird, was composed of slender filaments of bark, woven together in the form of a bottle; the neck and opening hung downwards, and a string, in an arched shape, was fastened across the opening fastened by the two ends, perhaps for the bird to perch on.

4. The Cape cuckow (Buff.), is a trifle smaller than ours: the bill a deep brown; the upper part of the body greenish brown; throat, cheeks, fore part of the neck, and upper wing coverts, of a deep rufous colour; tail feathers rufous, but paler, tipped with white; the breast, and all the under parts of the body, white, crossed with lines of black; the legs reddish brown. It inhabits the Cape of Good Hope; and is most likely the same bird which is called Edolio, from its pronouncing that word frequently in a low melancholy tone.—Voyagers also mention another cuckow, which is common to Loango in Africa. It is bigger than ours, but of the same colour; and repeats the word cuckow like that bird, but in different inflexion of voice. It is said that the male and female together go through the whole eight notes of the gamut; the male, beginning by itself, sounds the three first, after which he is accompanied by the female through the rest of the octave.

5. The honaratus, or sacred cuckow, is somewhat less than our cuckow: the general colour is blackish ash on the upper parts, marked with two spots of white on each feather; beneath white, transversely spotted with ash-colour: the quills are cinereous, transversely spotted with white: the tail is much cuneated, five inches and a half long, and of the same colour as the quills; the outer feather only three inches long: the legs and claws are of a pale ash-colour. This species inhabits Malabar, where the natives hold it sacred. It feeds on reptiles, which, perhaps, may be such as are the most noxious; if so, this seeming superstition may have rise from a more reasonable foundation than many others of the like sort.

6. The shining cuckow is the size of a small thrush: the bill is bluish; the upper part of the body green, with a rich gilded gloss; the under parts are white, transversely waved with green gold: the under tail coverts almost white; the quills and tail dusky-brown; the legs are bluish. This inhabits New Zealand, where it is called Poopo-arowro. See Plate CLI.

7. The vetula is a trifle bigger than a blackbird: the bill above an inch and a half long; the upper mandible black; the lower whitish: crown of the head brown, the feathers of it soft and silky: the upper parts of the body and the quills cinereous olive: throat and fore part of the neck whitish; the rest of the under parts rufous: the tail is much cuneated; the two middle feathers cinereous olive, the others dusky black tipped with white; the outer feather very short: legs blue-black. This species inhabits Jamaica, where it is frequent in the woods and hedges all the year round. It feeds on seeds, small worms, and caterpillars, and is very tame. This bird has the name tacco from its cry, which is like that word; the first syllable of this is pronounced hardly, the other following in a full octave lower than the first. It has also another cry like qua, qua, qua; but that only when alarmed by an enemy. Besides insects, it will also eat lizards, small snakes, frogs, young rats, and sometimes even small birds. The snakes they swallow head foremost, letting the tail hang out of the mouth till the fore-parts are digested. This bird, it is most likely, might be easily tamed, as it is so gentle as to suffer the negro children to catch it with their hands. Its gait is that of leaping, like a magpie; being frequently seen on the ground; and its flight but short, chiefly from bush to bush. At the time when other birds breed, they likewise retire into the woods, but their nests have never yet been found; from which one should be inclined to think, that they were indebted to other birds for the rearing their young in the manner of the common cuckow. It has the name of rain-bird, as it is said to make the greatest noise before rain. Common all the year at Jamaica. In another species or variety, common in Jamaica, the feathers on the throat appear like a downy beard, whence probably the name of old-man rain-bird, given it there and by Ray, Sloane, &c.

8. The nevius, spotted cuckow, or rail-bird, is about the size of a fieldfare: the bill three quarters of an inch; the upper mandible black on the top, and rufous on the sides; the under wholly rufous: the general colour of the plumage is rufous in two shades; the under parts rufous white: the feathers on the crown are of a deep brown, and pretty long, with rufous tips, and some of them margined with rufous: the hind part of the neck is a rufous grey; down the shafts deep brown: back and rump the same; each feather tipped with a rufous spot: on each feather of the throat and neck is a transverse brownish line near the end: the under tail coverts are rufous: the quills are grey brown, edged with rufous, and a spot of the same at the tips: the tail is near six inches long, much cuneated; the outer feathers only half the length of the middle ones; colour of it the same as the quills; some of the upper coverts reach to near two-thirds of the length of the tail: the legs are ash-colour; the claws greyish brown. It inhabits Cayenne.—Buffon mentions a variety of this by the name of rail-bird. It is much the same in size, but has less rufous, being grey in the place of that colour: the side tail-feathers have white tips: the throat is pale grey; under the body white; the tail a trifle longer than in the other. Whether a variety or different sex, is not known. This is common at Cayenne and Guiana; and is seen often perched upon gates and rails, whence its name; and when in this situation continually moves its tail. These are... Cucumber, are not very wild birds, yet do not form themselves into troops, although numbers are often found in the same district: nor do they frequent the thick woods like many of the genus.

9. The cayanus, or Cayenne cuckow, is the size of a blackbird; the bill is grey brown, above an inch long, and a little bent at the tip; the plumage on the upper parts of the body is purplish chestnut; beneath, the same, but paler: the quills are the same as the upper parts, tipped with brown: the tail is the same; near the end black, and tipped with white; it is much cuneated, and above ten inches long: the legs and claws are grey brown. This inhabits Cayenne, where it goes by the name of pieye, or devil. The natives give it that name as a bird of ill omen. The flesh they will not touch; and indeed not without reason, as it is very bad and lean. It is a very tame species, suffering itself to be almost touched by the hand before it offers to escape. Its flight is almost like that of a kingfisher; frequents the borders of rivers, on the low branches; feeds on insects; often wags its tail on changing place.

There are 37 other species, which inhabit different parts of the globe, and are principally distinguished by the shape of the tail and variations in colour.