Identifier: birdlifeguid00chap (find matches)
Title: Bird-life; a guide to the study of our common birds
Year: 1898 (1890s)
Authors: Chapman, Frank M. (Frank Michler), 1864-1945 Seton, Ernest Thompson, 1860-1946
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: New York, D. Appleton and company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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r above the ground. Most Cuckoos—all our thirty-five American species—have noticeably long tails, which they raise and droopslowly just after alighting, or when their curiosity isaroused. Of the one hundred and seventy-five known species,only two are found in the northeastern States—the Yel- „ „ , billed and the Black-billed Cuckoos. Yellow-billed Cuckoo, . n . Coccus americanus. The former is generally the more corn-Plate xxn. mon. It is a retiring bird, and youwill doubtless be first attracted to it by its notes. It doesnot perch in an exposed position, nor make long flights,but usually flies from the shelter of one tree directly intothe protecting foliage of another. If you catch a glimpseof it in passing, its long tail and brownish color willsuggest a Dove. Cuckoos are mysterious birds well worth watching.I would not imply that their deeds are evil; on the con-trary, they are exceedingly beneficial birds. One oftheir favorite foods is the tent caterpillar which spins the
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Plate XXXIX. Page 136. MEADOWLAKK. Length, 10-75 inches. Upper parts black, brown, and buff; under partsyellow, a black crescent on the breast, sides streaked with black; outertail-feathers white. MU. KINGFISHERS. . 113 destructive u worms nests in our fruit and shade trees.Indeed, we should be very much better off if Cuckooswere more numerous. Nevertheless, there is somethingabout the Cuckoos actions which always suggests to methat he either has just done, or is about to do, somethinghe shouldnt. The Yellow-billed Cuckoos call begins with a seriesof tut-hds or cl-ucks, and ends with a loud cow, cow, cow,cow, cow, cow. These notes are so unlike those of anyother of our birds, except those of the Black-billedCuckoo, that they will readily be recognized. The Black-billed Cuckoo resembles the Yellow-bill,but has the bill wholly black, the skin about the eye red,Black-billed Cuckoo, and tne tail-feathers with only small,Coccyzus inconspicuous whitish tips. It resem- e-rythropMMimus. bleg

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