The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1888-11-01

shoulders and throwing them bodil'
over the nest. Being the sole baby i
receives all the support Of the family
gets every worm or bug the mothei
brings home, and o gets big enough
TO get out and shift for itself. The mes
selected by the cuckoo mother is eithel
that of Il sparrow, finch or lark, and i
is believed by Montague and other.
that she has the power of retaining
the egg in the oviduct until she cal
find II nest suitable for its reception.
The evil practices here related are
it is pleasant to observe, characteristic
Of the European and not Of the Amer
lean cuckoo, the latter bird building
its own nest and rearing its young II
the usual tanner. 1t is painful, how
ever, to have to admit that the nest il
a very ~slovenly affair, being fat and
composed of a few dry sticks and
grass on q horizontal branch Of a low
tree; and it is still more painful tC
| have to admit that it is given to the
highly reprehensible practice of suck
ing the eggs Of other birds, and that in
many respects it is no better than il
should be,
Although so much has been written
of the cuckoo by poets very little is
known yet by n~aturalists. There are
really more than forty well-detined
species Of the cuckoo, all of them oe
ing m~.ilgratory. The most interesting
IS the European cuckoo, a bird apo"
fourteen inches long and having
sweep of about tw~enty-iv" IT.
across the wings. The s.cts
mouth and eyelids II VI 'e
the mouth a. anu WIG iusiaeN
~ . . Of an orange color; tl
p : of the head, neck. breast An
Nv per parts is a deep blush + a tn
under parts and the axillafy festhei
are white with distinct black bars; tn
quilts are blacklist gray; the tail
darker, approaching to black at tn
end, and often with a dark green CLOS
tipped with white, and each feathe
marked along the shaft with trianet
lar white spots; the feet are yelley
and the bill black. The female rep
closely resembles the male, IL aiqivs
from Southern Europe in Great Britah
IN April, and generally departs in Al
gust 1t is very generally distribute
over Europe, decreasing in numbes
toward the reTth and going southwara
as far as Africa. The well-knowb
notes of the bird are heard in tn
breeding season, and very much ~
scnble its name. The song is lald
and joyful, confined to tho males, md
silent before the departure of the birls.
The cuckoo's food consists of the larrn
Of insects and catterpillars, but before
swallowing the latter it cuts off the
hinder end and frees the body from the
intestinal canal by repeated jerks with
its sharp bill. The males are moro
numerous than the females, and are
bold and fierce. In autumn they are
fat, the ancients killing and eating
them AT that time. although it would
now almost be considered q sacrileee
TO cat "a cuckoo, even when at its
plumpest,
The American cuckoo is a smaller
bird, seldom longer than twelve and
one-half inches, or wider across the
wings than sixteen inches. The gen-
eral color of the birds back and wings
is a light greenish brown, the under
nnrts being grayish white. They are
shy birds, f%requenting the dense woods
and solitary swamps. The notes re-
semble the word ~"Ccwcow,' repeated
several times with increasing rapidity,
hence n of its names; it is also called
the rain row and cowcOw. It's food
consists of catcrpillars, insects. wood
snails and berries. Its flight Is rapid,
but its gait on the ground is very awk-
ward. It is found in all parts Of the
United States, though nowhere in great
numhers; but there is another cuckoo,
called the mangrove cuckoo, which is
rarely see out of Florida.
Intruder and dishonest as the cuckoo
is, he is a positive gentleman beside
the crow, The crow is a born thief
"a petty ~larcenist OF the worst de-
scription. He devours the eggs of the
birds as a matter of principle. He
murders Il weak or wounded bird with
malignity. He delights to worry the
owl and to tease the opossum or
racoon is his daily recreation. Even
when brought into domesticity, as it
easily can be, it displays considerable
intelligence, but it will steal every
thing its can lay claws on, from "A
door-mat to a silver teaspoon. 1t will
eat fresh meat when it is to be had, but
when this is not %procurable it never
hcsitates to eat carrion or to begin up
on any animal that Is Don likely to be.
In this respect bis habit seems the
same in all countries, and there can
be nothing more heartless than the
way in which he hurrys up to the
m%oribund. Whenever he sees an ami
NAL lying on the ground he o col.
lects all his comrades in the vicinity.
One of the boldest hops upon the ami
mails body; hops slowly towards its
head and looks inquiringly into its
eyes. If the animal is able to defend
itself, he removes the dangerous
friend by "A shake Of the head; but if
the eyes be dim from disease or
wounds, the crow %perceives it, and
plunging its powerful bill into the eye
ball Of the sufferer, digs it out and