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Show 332 AVES. THE TRJIE CucKoos Have a moderately strong beak, short tarsi, and ten quills in the tail. They are celebrated for the singular habit of laying their eggs in the nests of other insectivorous birds, aBd, what is not less extraor· dinary, these latter, which are often a considerably smaller species, take as much care of the young Cuckoo as of their own true offspring, and that too, even when its introduction has been preceded, which often happens, by the destruction of their eggs. The rationale of this phenomenon, which is unique in the history of birds, is unknown. Herissant has attributed it to the position of the gizzard, which, in fact, is placed much farther back in the abdomen, and is less pro· tected by the sternum than in other birds. The c<Eca are long, and the lower larynx has but a single muscle proper. There is one of them very generally found throughout Europe, C. canorus, L.; Enl. 811. (The Common Cuckoo.) Anash coloured grey; white belly, striped transversely with black; sides of the tail spotted with white; a red takes the place of the grey in the young bird. But another species, C. glandarius, Edw. 57; Naum. 130, the male; Col. 414, the female,(I) which is sometimes seen in Europe, has a moresono· rous note, and is crested and spotted. The warm countrie!? of both hemispheres produce several others.(2) Africa, in particular, has several beautiful species, of a green colour, more or less gilded; their beak is rather more de· pressed than that of the Common Cuckoo.(3) In others, mostly spotted, the beak is vertically higher.(4) The (1) Cuculus pisanus, Gm. is the young. (2) Cuculus capends, Vaill. Afr. pl. 200, which is probably nothing more thana variety of the common one;-solitarius, Nob., Vaill. 206;-radiatus, Sonner. Voy. I, pl. 79;-clamosus, Nob. Vaill. 204, 205;-edolius, Nob. Vaill. 207, 208. N.B. Cue. se:rratus, Sparm. Mus. Carls. 3, is the male; melanoleucos, Enl. 272, the female; -wromandus, Enl. 274, 2 and a vat·., Vaill. 213;-americanus, En!. 816, orcarolinen· Ria, Wils. III, xxviii, 1;-e:rythrophtalmus, lb., 2?-jlavus, Enl. 814. N .B. The C. mindanensis, Enl. 277, and its male C. orienta/is, Enl. 274, 1, are separated from them by M. Vigors and Horsf. under the generic name of Eunt· NA:nns. (3) Cue. auratus, Enl. 657, Vaill. 211;-classii, Vaill. 210;-lucidus, Lath. Syn. I, pl. xxiii, and Col. 102, f. l;-capreus, Id. Supp. 134, and Vieill. Gal. 42;-cluJl. cites, T. Col.102, f. 2, the female. (4) Cue. punctatus, Enl. 771, and scolopaceus, 586, and perhaps even maculatus, 764, are varieties;-lumoratus, Enl. 294, Vaill. 216;-taitentis, Sparm. Mus. Carls· SCANSORIJE. 333 CouAs, Vaill. Only differ from the Cuckoos in their elevated tarsi.(l) They build in hollow trees, and do not lay their eggs in strange nests; a fact, so far as regards those species whose mode of breeding is known, that cannot be denied. We may separate from them an American species with a long beak, that is only curved near the tip.(2) M. Le VailJant has already, and very properly, separated from the other Cuckoos the CENTROPus, Illig. Or the Coucals,(3) species of Africa and India, in which the thumb nail is long, straight and pointed, as in the Larks. Those which are known belong to the eastern continent. They also build in hollow trees.( 4) We should also distinguish with that naturalist, the CouRoLs,( 5) or VouROUDRrous of Madagascar, In whose thick, pointed, straight and compressed beak, which is but slightly arcuated at the point of its upper mandible, the nostrils are pierced obliquely in the middle of each side. Their tail is composed of twelve quills. They live in the woods, and build like the preceding birds. They are said to be mostly frugivorous.(6) 32;-mindan&n3is, Enl. 277;-gaira, Vieill. Gal. 44; Freycin. Voy. Zool. 26. Why Vieillot makes an .!lnis of it, it is impossible to say. (1) From this division Vieillot makes his genus Coccyzus, Gal. 41. It is the 1ti.A.cnopus of Spix, Cue. madagascariends, Enl. 825;-C. Lalandii, T. Col. 440;r: mtatus, En!. 589; Vaill. 217;-ca11'Uleus, 295, 2; Vaill. 218;-nawius, Enl. 812;cayanus, Enl. 211;-C. brachypterus, T. or Mru:ropus caixana, Spix, 43;-C. seniculus, En!. 813;-Macropus phasianellus, Spix, 42. (2) Cue. vetula, Enl. 772. It is upon this distinction that Vieill. has founded his genus S.A.unoTHERA, Galer. 38. . (3) Ooucal, compounded of Cuckoo and Lark (Co c. and Alouette); centropus, feet With spurs. Vieill. has changed it into ConYDONIE, and Leach into PoDOPIIILus. (4) OuculusaJgyptius and senegalensis, Enl. 332; Vaill. Afr. 219;-philippensis, Nob. Enl. 824, ot• C. bubutus, Horsf. Jav. ;-nigro-rufus, Nob. Vaill. Afr. 220;-tolu, En~. 295; Vaill. 2l9;-bengalensis, llrown, Ill. XIII;-rufinus, Nob., Vaill. 221;mlhzopa, Nob. Vaill. 222;-gigas, Nob. Vaill. 223;-atralbus, Voy. de la Coq. Zoo). 34. L (5 ) Oourol, from Cuckoo and Roller. From this division Vieill. has made his genus EP'l'osoMus, Gal. 29. ~ ( 6 ) Ouculua afer, Enl. 387, the male, whose beak is badly drawn, and 588, the emaie, where it is better, Vaill. 226, 227. |