i l
wüïiraw.
S liai
I I
512 C U C K 0 W.
F00&. tame, fo as to become familiar. They will eat in this Hate
bread and milk, fruits, infebts, eggs, and fiejb, either cooked or raw;
but in a ftate of nature, I believe, chiefly live on caterpillars; which,
in the few I have obferved, were all of the fmo.oth kind; others
have found vegetable matter, beetles, and fmall Jlones*. When fat,
faid to be as good eating as a Land Rail.
Their coming into England, where they are only migratory, is
about the middle of April-, at leaft we hear, about that time,
.their firft call to love, which is only ufed by the male. About the
end of June this ceafes, though the Cuckow does not take its final
leave till the end of September, or the beginning of Oblober -, but perhaps
fome few may flay with us, or how fhall we account for
their being heard to call in February -f\ I have heard this bird
at midnight two feveral times.
M igr at ion. The major part are fuppofed to go into Africa, fince they are
obferved to vifit the Ifland of Malta twice in. a year, in their paf-
fage backwards and forwards, as is fuppofed, to that part of the
world ; they are well known alfo at Aleppo J. T o the North, it
is faid to be common in Sweden ; but not to appear fo early, by
a month, as with us. Ruffia is not deftitute of this bird. And
we have feen a fpecimen brought from Kamtfchatka, now in the
poflefiion of Sir Jofeph Banks.
V ar. a .
RUFOUS
C.
D escr
Le Coucou roux, Brif. orn. iv* p. n o . N° u A.
'T 'H I S is a mere variety of a young bird, having the upper
parts' varied with rufous, where the other is white.
* In fome manufcript notes, which I faw at Sir A. Lever’ s, in the handwriting
of the late Dr. Derbam, he mentions finding hairy caterpillars, and egg-
(hells, in the ftomach of a. Cuckow.
f Br. Zool. i. p. 233. X Buffell Alep. p*7i.
Coucou
SI
Coucou du Cap de Bonne Elperance, Buf. eif. vi. p. 353.— PI. enl. 390.
TRIFLE fmaller than our Cuckow: length under twelve
inches. Bill deep brown: irides yellow: the upper part of
the body greenilh 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 breaft, and all the under
parts of the body, white, crofted with lines o f black : legs
reddifh brown.
Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, and is molt likely the fame
bird which is called Edolio, from its pronouncing that word frequently
in a low melancholy tone.
Voyagers alfo mention another Cuckow, which is common to
Loango, in Africa. This is bigger than ours, but of the fame
colour, and repeats the word Cuckow like that bird, but in different
inflexion of voice- It is faid that the male and female together
go through the whole eight notes of the Gamut-, the male, beginning
by itfelf, founds the three flrft, after which he is accompanied
by the female through the reft of the octave *.
'Cueulus glandarius, Lin. Syfi. i. p. 169. N° ; .
Le Coucou d’ Andaloufie, Brif. orn. iv. p.126. N° 10.
Le grand Cpucou tacheté, Buf. oif. vi. p. 361.
Great fpotted Cuckow., Edw. pi, £7.
^ IZ E of a Magpie. Bill black, an inch and a quarter long,
and a little bent: the head iscrefted; the Weft compofed of
blueilh alh-coloured feathers : from thé bafe of the Upper man-
•2«
CAPE
C.
D escription
Place ans
Manners.
3*
GREAT
SPOTTED
C.
Description