The RAIN or YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO (_Coccygus Americanus_) represents
a group of the above birds characterised by their thin, delicate,
compressed, and pointed beak, which is slightly curved, and almost
equals the head in length. The feet are short, and wings long. The long
graduated tail is composed of ten slender feathers. The plumage of the
Rain Cuckoo is entirely of a light greyish brown above, and greyish white
on the under side. The exterior quills are bordered with brownish orange,
the tail-feathers black, tipped with white, the eye is deep brown, the
upper mandible brownish black, and lower one of a yellow shade; the
feet are blueish grey. This bird is twelve inches and a half in length;
the wing measures five inches and a half, and the tail six inches and
three-quarters.
"A stranger who visits the United States," says Wilson, "and passes
through our woods in the month of May or June, will sometimes hear, as he
traverses the borders of deep, retired, high-timbered hollows, an uncouth
guttural sound or note, resembling the syllables 'kowe, kowe,' beginning
very slowly, but ending so rapidly that the notes seem to run into each
other. He will hear this frequently without being able to discover the
bird or animal from which it proceeds, as it is both shy and solitary,
always seeking the thickest foliage for concealment. This is produced by
the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, which, from its cry, is known in Virginia as
the Cow Bird. It is also called the Rain Crow, being observed to be most
clamorous immediately before rain."
"The flight of this species," Audubon tells us, "is rapid, silent, and
horizontal, as it moves from one tree to another, or across a field or
river, and is generally continued amongst the branches of the trees in our
woods. When making its way among the boughs, it occasionally inclines the
body to either side, so as alternately to show its whole upper or under
parts. During its southward migrations, it flies high in the air, and
in such loose flocks that the birds seem to follow each other, instead
of keeping together. On the other hand, the males arrive singly; the
males coming first, and the females a few weeks after. They do not fly
in a continued line, but in a broad front. This bird is not abundant
anywhere, and yet is found very far north. I have met with it in all the
low grounds and damp places in Massachusetts, along the line of Upper
Canada, pretty high on the Mississippi and Arkansas, and in every State
between these boundary lines. Its appearance in the State of New York
takes place before the beginning of May, and at Green Bay not before the
middle of that month. A pair here and there seem to appropriate certain
tracts to themselves, where they rear their young in peace and plenty.
The Yellow-billed Cuckoos feed on insects, such as caterpillars and
butterflies, as well as on berries of various kinds, evincing a special
predilection for the mulberry. In autumn they eat many grapes, and I have
seen them supporting themselves by a momentary action of their wings
opposite a bunch, selecting the ripest, when they would seize it and
return to a branch, repeating their visits in this manner till satiated.
They will also now and then descend to the ground to pick up a wood-snail
or a beetle. They are extremely awkward at walking, and move in an ambling
manner, or limp along sideways, a clumsiness for which their short legs
are an ample excuse. They are seldom seen perched conspicuously on a
twig; but, on the contrary, are generally to be found among the thickest
boughs and foliage, where they emit their notes until late in the autumn,
after which they are discontinued. The nest is simple, composed of a few
dry sticks and grass, formed much like that of the Common Dove, and like
it fastened to a horizontal branch, often within the reach of man. The
bird would appear to make no particular selection as to situation or the
nature of the tree, but settles anywhere indiscriminately. The eggs are
four or five, of an oval form, and of a bright green colour. Only one
brood is reared in the season, unless the first is removed or destroyed.
According to Brewer the female commences sitting as soon as her first egg
is deposited, it being no uncommon occurrence to find fresh-laid eggs and
others containing almost fully developed young in the same nest. At first
the young are principally fed on insects. Towards autumn they become very
fat, and are fit for being eaten; few people, however, shoot them for the
table, excepting the Creoles of Louisiana."