Cuckoos.
The general characteristic of the birds ranked in this family are—slightly-curved beaks of medium dimensions, wings generally short and concave, and tapering tails. Among the Cuckoos are comprehended Anis, or Annos (Cotophagus, Briss.), Barbets, Trogons, and Touracos, or Plantain-eaters. Cuckoos have elegant shapes; beaks almost as long as the head, compressed, and slightly curved; the tail rather long and rounded. Unlike other birds of the same family, they have long and pointed wings. Their size is about that of the Turtle Dove. Their flight is light and rapid, but they are unable to bear strong winds; thus they cannot accomplish great journeys without resting. There are a great number of known species belonging to all the countries of the Old Continent. The whole of Africa, South Asia, China, Japan, and certain isles of Oceania are inhabited by Cuckoos.
Europe only possesses one species, the Grey Cuckoo, which has been carefully studied, and to which what we have to say regarding this group of birds applies. Grey Cuckoos are essentially migratory. They pass the warm season in Europe, and the winter in Africa or in the warm parts of Asia. They arrive in France in the month of April, and leave it at the end of August or the beginning of September. They travel during the night, not in numerous bands, but alone, or in groups of two or three at the most. They prefer bushy parts of woods, but often traverse the country in search of nourishment, which is composed principally of insects and caterpillars. They are frightfully voracious, which accounts for the enormous capacity of their stomachs. Of a surly and tyrannical nature, they suffer no rival of their species in the neighbourhood which they have chosen; for if some intruder arrives, it is hunted out without truce or mercy. On account of this unsociable disposition, the Grey Cuckoos, when captured after attaining maturity, are unable to accommodate themselves to confinement—in short, adults starve themselves to death when in captivity. Young birds are less restive, and gradually accustom themselves to a cage; but they are always disagreeable on account of their quarrelsome habits, which prevents them from living caged with feathered companions.
Fig. 192.—Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus, Linn.).
Cuckoos are celebrated for the peculiar manner in which they raise their progeny. The females do not build a nest or cover their eggs, neither do they take care of their young. They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, generally in those of little insectivorous Passerines, such as the Lark, the Robin, Hedge Sparrow, Redthroat, Nightingale, Thrush, Blackbird, and sometimes also in those of the Magpie, Turtle Dove, and Wood Pigeon. They leave the care of hatching their eggs to these strangers, and of feeding their young until they are completely developed. Different explanations have been proposed to justify the anomaly which seems to make a hard-hearted mother of the Cuckoo. We owe to M. Florenf-Prevost the possession of certain information on this point which had long remained in obscurity. According to this naturalist, Cuckoos are polygamous, but in a reverse sense to other birds. Whilst among them males have several females, with Cuckoos it is the females that have several males, because the stronger sex is much more numerous than the weaker. These ladies have no fixed home. At the breeding-time they wander from one district to another, reside two or three days with a male at one place, and then abandon him, according to inclination. It is at this time that the males so frequently utter the cry known to all the world, and from which the bird derives its name; it is a sort of call or challenge to the females, which in their turn reply by a peculiar clucking. Cuckoos lay eight or ten eggs in the space of a few weeks. When an egg has been laid, the female seizes it in her beak, and carries it to the first unoccupied nest in the vicinity, and there deposits it, profiting by the absence of the proprietor, which would certainly oppose such an addition. A Redthroat has been seen to return unexpectedly, and force the stranger to retire with her burden. The next egg is placed in a neighbouring nest, but never in the same as the first. The mother is doubtlessly conscious of the unfortunate position it would place her two nurslings in if she acted otherwise, for it would certainly be impossible for two little Passerines to supply the wants of two such voracious beings as young Cuckoos. Pertinent to this, we will mention a fact that we have not seen stated in any work on natural history. It often happens that the female Cuckoo takes from the nest one of the eggs of the Passerine, breaks it with her beak, and scatters the shell. Thus, when the mother returns, she finds the same number of eggs that she left. It is from this cause one frequently sees pieces of egg-shell surrounding the nests where Cuckoos have deposited their progeny. This action on the part of the birds denotes perfect reasoning powers, and consequently real intelligence. What say the great philosophers to it, who refuse this faculty to animals? When it has thus left its eggs to nurse, the female comes several times to see that they are well cared for, and does not leave the neighbourhood till she is assured that such is the case. She is not quite so free from solicitude about the welfare of her young as one at first thinks. Thus we can understand why the female Cuckoo does not herself discharge her maternal functions. Laying her eggs at considerable intervals, she would find that to cover several eggs and to raise a young one at the same time was incompatible, for the latter duty involves frequent absences which would destroy the eggs, to which, during incubation, an equal and constant temperature is necessary. It is not then indifference, but thought, that causes her to confide to others her maternal cares. The young Cuckoo is no sooner hatched than he employs his infant strength to get rid of the true children of his foster-parents, in order to be the only one to profit by their attentions; he glides under the frail creatures, gets them on his back—where he holds them by means of his raised wings—and precipitates them one after another from the nest. The mother, though thus cruelly treated in return for her affection, generally retains her love for this perfidious child of her adoption, and provides for all its wants until the time of its departure. Sometimes, however, she is so angry at the loss of her young, that she brings no nourishment to the monster, and lets it die of starvation.
Honey Guides, or Indicators (Indicator, Vall.), have their place next to Cuckoos. These are little birds inhabiting the interior of Africa. They feed on insects, and especially delight in the pupæ of bees; they employ very curious manœuvres in order to procure them, which denote perfect intelligence. When one of these birds discovers a hive, it endeavours to attract the attention of the first person it meets by frequently-repeated cries. When observed it proceeds to fly, and sometimes leads thus for great distances till it reaches the place where the hive is, which it takes care to point out by every means in its power. Whilst the honey is being taken, the bird remains in the neighbourhood, observing all that passes, and when that work is accomplished, it approaches to reap the fruits of its trouble. The bees make very little buzzing, but flutter round, trying to sting it (but its skin is impervious to their efforts). Often, however, the despoiled bees attack its eyes, and sometimes succeed in blinding it: the unfortunate bird, incapable of guiding itself, then perishes in sight of the place that witnessed its triumph. The Hottentots esteem Indicators very highly on account of the services which they render them in revealing the abodes of bees, and therefore scruple to kill them.
The group of Cuckoos is supplemented by several more species nearly allied to the genus Cuckoo, upon which it is useless for us to enlarge. These are Courols, Coccyzus, Couas, and Guiras. All these birds are strangers.
Anis have bulky, short, very compressed beaks, surmounted by a slight and sharp crest. They inhabit the countries of Equatorial America, and live in troops of from thirty to forty in the midst of savannahs and marshes. They feed upon reptiles and insects; they are often seen to alight upon cattle to devour the insect parasites which torment them. Hence comes their scientific name of Crotophaga (Linn.), or eaters of insects. They are of very gentle, confiding natures, and the sight of man does not frighten them; besides, there is no advantage in killing them, for their flesh exhales a repulsive odour. Taken young, they become very familiar, and are as quick as Parrots in learning the art of speaking. They possess the instinct of sociability in the highest degree; so much so, that they do not even isolate themselves at pairing-times as other birds do. They build a common nest either in the trees or bushes, in which all the females lay and sit on their eggs. This nest is sometimes divided by walls into a certain number of compartments, each of which belongs to a female, but generally all the eggs are mixed, and the females cover them indiscriminately. This admirable understanding does not cease after the young are hatched. These are nourished by all the mothers in common. Are not these little republics models of peace and concord? and does not man find in them salutary examples of disinterestedness and affection? The two principal species of the genus are the Razor-bill of Jamaica and the Crow Blackbird of America. The former is the size of a Blackbird, the latter of a Jay.
Fig. 193.—African Barbet (Pogonias hirsutus, Sw.).
Barbets ([Fig. 193]) owe their name to a number of straight hairs which they have upon their beak. They are massive in form, and their flight is heavy. Inhabiting warm countries of both continents, they conceal themselves in thick forests, either alone or in small bands. They feed on fruits, berries, and insects. Certain species even attack and devour young birds. They build in the trunks of trees. The number of eggs they lay is two, sometimes (though rarely) three. Levaillant asserts that the old and infirm Barbets are cared for and fed by those in the enjoyment of all their vigour. He says that, having taken five Barbets in a nest of Republicans, one of which was so old that it could not stand on its legs, and having enclosed them in a cage, "the four healthy Barbets hastened to give food to the one lying in a dying state in a corner of the cage." He adds that the nest whence he had taken them was filled with husks and the remains of insects, which led him to think that the old invalid had been fed a long time by these kind and thoughtful birds. If this is true, it is worthy the attention of moralists.
Fig. 194—Resplendent Trogons (Trogon (Calurus resplendens, Gould).
Trogons, like Barbets, have the bases of their beaks covered with hairs. Their soft and silky plumage glitters with the most brilliant hues, and their tails are extremely long. They very strongly resemble the birds of night by their unsociable nature and melancholy dispositions, and by the solitary lives they pass in the wildest parts of woods. Like them, also, they only go out in the morning and evening to seek the insects and caterpillars which form their principal nourishment. The presence of man does not frighten them; and this confidence often leads to their death, for they are actively pursued for their flesh, which is said to be excellent, and also for their very beautiful feathers. Their name Couroucous arises from the cry which they utter at breeding-times. They inhabit the intertropical regions of both continents. The most remarkable species is the Resplendent Trogon ([Fig. 194]), indigenous to Mexico and Brazil. The plumage of this bird is of a magnificent emerald green frosted with gold: its head is surmounted by a beautiful tuft of the same colour. The daughters of the Caciques in the New World formerly used its feathers in their dresses. At the present time creoles employ them for the same purpose. The most common species is the Trogon mexicanus ([Fig. 195]).
Fig. 195.—Mexican Trogon (Trogon mexicanus, Gould).
Touracos, or Plantain-eaters (Musophagidæ), are African birds, of which the general forms bear some analogy to the Hoccos. They live in forests, and perch upon the highest branches of trees: their flight is heavy and little sustained.