Family Cuculide
CUCKOOS, ANIS, Eтc.
Only thirty-five of the some one hundred and seventy-five known species of Cuckoos are found in the New World, and they are largely confined to the tropics.
Cuckoos as a rule are rather solitary birds inhabiting wooded areas. The Anis, however, are always gregarious and live in open places. Their flight is weak, generally from tree to tree, and their feet are largely used as a means of progression. Some species hop, others walk, and one is celebrated for his speed as a runner. They are possessed of peculiar vocal powers, and their strange calls are frequently the origin of their popular names. Many species are remarkable for the irregularity of their breeding habits. The Old-World Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), like our Cowbird, deposits its eggs in the nests of other birds, and leaves to them the duties of incubation and rearing of the young. The Anis are communistic, and build but one nest, in which several females lay and share the task of incubation. The smaller species are insectivorous, but the larger ones add small reptiles and batrachians to their fare. 386. Coccyzus minor (Gmel.). MANGROVE CUCKOO. Ad.-Upper parts brownish gray, grayer on the head, with glossy reflections; wings and middle pair of tail-feathers like the back; outer tail-feathers black, broadly tipped with white; ear-coverts black, bill black, the lower mandible yellow except at the tip; under parts ochraceous-buff. L., 12.50; W., 5.40; T., 6.50; B. from N., 80.