Bill long or of moderate length, broader than high at the base,
compressed toward the end, straight or somewhat arched; upper mandible
with the dorsal line convex or arched, the ridge indistinct, the sides
convex, the edges arched, sharp, without notch, the tip decurved;
lower mandible with the angle rather short, the dorsal line straight
or decurved, the ridge thin, the sides erect or convex, the tip
slightly decurved, acute. Nostrils basal, oblong, generally marginate.
Head of moderate size; neck of ordinary length; body rather slender.
Feet of moderate length; tarsus with broad scutella; toes long,
slender, flat beneath, outer directed outwards or backwards. Claws
long or of moderate length, arched, compressed, acute. Plumage
blended; wings generally long, with the first quill short, the third
and fourth longest. Tail long, of ten feathers; upper mandible very
narrow beneath, with three longitudinal ridges; tongue slender,
emarginate, and papillate at the base, the tip horny, thin, lacerated,
and slit; œsophagus rather wide, without dilatation; stomach large,
round, with the muscular coat very thin, the epithelium soft, rugous;
intestine of moderate length and width; cœca long, oblong, narrowed
at the base. Trachea simple, with a single very slender pair of
inferior laryngeal muscles.
GENUS I. COCCYZUS, Vieill. AMERICAN CUCKOO.
Bill of moderate length, rather slender, somewhat arched, much
compressed, acute; upper mandible with the dorsal line arched, the
ridge rounded, the sides erect toward the end, the edges thin, direct,
the tip narrow, decurved; lower mandible with the angle of moderate
length, rather wider, the dorsal line decurved toward the end, the
sides nearly erect, the edges decurved, the tip narrow; the nostrils
small, oblong, operculate. Eyelids bare, except at the margin. Head
rather small; neck of moderate length; body slender. Feet rather
short; tarsus compressed, rather stout, with seven very broad
scutella; toes slender, compressed, anterior united at the base, first
small. Claws moderate, arched, compressed, laterally grooved, acute.
Plumage soft and blended, somewhat compact on the back. Wings of
moderate length, with the first quill very short, the third and fourth
longest. Tail very long, cuneate or graduated.
278. 1. Coccyzus Americanus, Linn. Yellow-billed American
Cuckoo.--Rain Crow. Cow-bird.
Plate II. Male and Female.
Bill brownish-black above, with the margin of the upper, and nearly
the whole of the lower mandible yellow; margin of the eye yellow;
upper parts light greenish-brown, with a tinge of grey on the head;
lower parts silvery white; quills with the inner webs brownish-orange;
middle tail-feathers like the back, glossed with green, the rest
brownish-black, all tipped with white, that colour gradually enlarging
to the outer, which, besides, has nearly the whole outer web white.
_Male_, 12-1/2, 16. _Female_, 11-3/4, 15-1/2.
Breeds from Texas to Nova Scotia, and throughout the interior, to the
eastern bar of the Rocky Mountains. Common. Many spend the winter in
the Floridas.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Cuculus carolinensis, Wils. Amer. Orn.
v. iv. p. 13.
Coccyzus americanus, Bonap. Syn. p. 42.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, Nutt. Man. v. i. p.
551.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v.
i. p. 18; v. v. p. 520.
279. 2. Coccyzus erythrophthalmus, Wils. Black-billed American
Cuckoo.--Rain-Crow. Cuckoo-Bird.
Plate XXXII. Male and Female.
Bill black; margin of the eye blue, before and behind bright red;
upper parts light greenish-brown; lower parts silvery-white, the
breast and sides faintly tinged with yellow; quills with the inner
webs pale buff toward the base; tail-feathers like the back, tipped
with white.
_Male_, 11-1/2, 15.
From Texas to Nova Scotia, and in the interior to Kentucky. Rather
common. Migratory.
Black-billed Cuckoo, Cuculus erythrophthalmus, Wils. Amer.
Orn. v. iv. p. 15.
Coccyzus erythrophthalmus, Bonap. Syn. p. 42.
St. Domingo Cuckoo, Coccyzus dominicus, Nutt. Man. v. i. p.
556.
Black-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus erythrophthalmus, Aud. Orn.
Biog. v. i. p. 170; v. v. p. 523.