What Bird is That? Part 9

CUCKOOS, KINGFISHERS, ETC. ORDER COCCYGES

CUCKOOS, ANIS, ETC. FAMILY CUCULIDae

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO

_Coccyzus america.n.u.s america.n.u.s. Case 7, Fig. 1_

Broadly white-tipped tail-feathers, a partly yellow bill, and largely reddish brown primaries distinguish this species from its black-billed cousin. L. 12, of which one-half is tail.

_Range._ Nests from northern Florida to Canada; winters in tropical America, returning to the United States in April.

Was.h.i.+ngton, common S.R., May 3-Oct. 13. Ossining, common S.R., May 4-Oct. 31. Cambridge, common S.R., May 12-Sept. 15. N. Ohio, common S.R., Apl.

20-Sept. 25. Glen Ellyn, quite common S.R., May 15-Sept. 29. SE. Minn., common S.R., May 21-Aug.

20.

Cuckoos are common birds, but are more often heard than seen. Their notes are not like those of the cuckoo clock, which exactly imitates the voice of the European Cuckoo, but a series of _cuck-cuck-cucks_ and _cow-cows_ repeated a varying number of times. The Cuckoo rarely makes long flights but slips from one tree to another, seeking at once the inner branches and avoiding an exposed perch. The nest, a platform of sticks, thinly covered, is placed in low trees or bushes. The 3-5 greenish blue eggs are laid in May.

BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO

_Coccyzus erythrophthalmus. Case 7, Fig. 2_

A wholly black bill (note that in both our Cuckoos it is slightly curved), wings without reddish brown, and small, inconspicuous white tips to the tail-feathers distinguish this species from the preceding.

_Range._ A more northern species than the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Nests from Virginia (Georgia in the mountains) to Quebec; winters in tropical America, reaching the southern States in April.

Was.h.i.+ngton, rather rare S.R., May 5-Oct. 6.

Ossining, common S.R., May 3-Oct. 7. Cambridge, common S.R., May 12-Sept. 20. N. Ohio, tolerably common S.R., May 1-Sept. 25. Glen Ellyn, S.R., May 5-Oct. 21. SE. Minn., common S.R., May 8-Sept. 27.

The day after penning the foregoing notes on the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, I saw a Black-bill make a prolonged, das.h.i.+ng flight through the open, alight on the limb of a dead, leafless tree, directly over a young girl who was calling loudly to an active dog near her, and from this conspicuous perch utter its low _coo-coo_ notes, both looking and sounding more like a Dove than a conventional Cuckoo. So while we may say that the Cuckoos are much alike in habits one must not accept generalized statements too literally. There is much individuality among birds, a fact that makes their study far more interesting than if all were cast in the same mold.

The notes of this species are softer than those of the Yellow-bill, but the difference between the calls of the two species must be learned from the birds, not from books. The nest of the Black-bill is the more compactly built of the two, and its eggs are of a deeper shade.

KINGFISHERS. FAMILY ALCEDINIDae

BELTED KINGFISHER

_Ceryle alcyon. Case 3, Fig. 18; Case 5, Fig. 10_

The female resembles the male, but the sides and the band across the breast are reddish brown. This is our only Kingfisher. Crest, color, size, habits, all distinguish him. L. 13.

_Range._ North America; winters from Illinois and Virginia, southward; migrates north in early April.

Was.h.i.+ngton, common P.R., except in midwinter.

Ossining, common S.R., Apl. 1-Nov. 23; casual in winter. Cambridge, common S.R., Apl. 10-Nov. 1; rare W.V. N. Ohio, common S.R., Mch. 20-Nov. 1; rare W.V. Glenn Ellyn, isolated pairs, Apl. 1-Nov.

19. SE. Minn., common S.R., Mch. 21-Dec. 12.

The Belted Kingfisher is a watchman of the waterways who sounds his loud rattle when we trespa.s.s on his territory, a gallant fisherman, who, like a Falcon 'waits on' with fluttering wing, and the moment his aim is taken plunges headlong with a splash on some fish that has ventured too near the surface.

The nest is made at the end of a burrow in a bank; 5-8 white eggs are laid in May.

WOODp.e.c.k.e.rS, WRYNECKS, ETC. ORDER PICI

WOODp.e.c.k.e.rS. FAMILY PICIDae

IVORY-BILLED WOODp.e.c.k.e.r

_Campephilus princ.i.p.alis_

Our largest Woodp.e.c.k.e.r, black with a white stripe down each side of the neck, white showing in the wing in flight, the male with a flaming red crest, the female with a black one and both with an ivory-white bill. L. 20.

_Range._ Formerly southeastern United States to North Carolina; now rare and local in the wilder, less settled portions of the Gulf States.

When man appears, the Ivory-bill disappears. This is not alone due to the destruction of the birds' haunts but to the bird's shy, retiring nature. Its days are numbered even more surely than are those of the forests it inhabits.

The nesting cavity is usually made in a cypress some forty feet from the ground, and 3-5 white eggs are laid in March.

HAIRY WOODp.e.c.k.e.r

_Dryobates villosus villosus. Case 2, Figs. 28, 29_

The Hairy is a large edition of the Downy with white, unmarked outer tail-feathers. The male has a red head-band. L. 9.

_Range._ Middle and northern states; a permanent resident. The southern Hairy Woodp.e.c.k.e.r (_D. v.

auduboni_) inhabits the southeastern United States north to southern Virginia. It is smaller than the Hairy and has less white in the plumage. L.

8-1/10.

The Northern Hairy Woodp.e.c.k.e.r (_D. v. leucomelas_) is found from the northern United States northward. It is larger and whiter than the Hairy.

L. 10.