The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1919-06-12
WINGED WEATHER PROPHETS

"tNSGD WEA HEX fROPHE y
Undoubtedly one of the most elus-
i've birds in all the United States is
the rain crow or cuckoo. | have fol-
lowed his steadily retreating call for
hours and not once discovered him.
He seemed to mock me and taunt me
and jecr at me because he knew how
to glide away on silent wings and be-
cause he was ventriloquist
There are old men who never have
seen cuckoo. Yes, they have heard
him many times. They will tell you
that he sounds his mournful call be-
fore rain. Therefore he has acquir-
ed y considerable reputation as
weather prophet, and that explains
why he is commonly known as rain
crow.
About three months elapsed be-
tween the time tried to see the cue
koo and the time that l succeeded.
Instead of chasing him, secreted my
self in his ncighborhood and waited
! for him to come within sight. He
glides so swiftly and so noislessly
that you must be very sharpeyed and
alert to catch a glimpse of him.
When. you have located cuckoo,
you can sometimes get beneath the
tree in which he perches if your will
approach him from the rear and
match your stealth with his. Act as
if you were endeavoring to catch a
criminal. After you have seen a cue
koo, you will more readily find others.
Two species, the yellow-hilled
and black-billed are common in the
United States east of the Great
Plains. The California cuckoo, rel
ativc of the yellow-billed ranges from
Colorado and Texas to the Pacific
coast.
! The yellow billed cuckoo has prom.
inent distinguishing mark. His back
and upper parts are brown and the
underparts are creamy white. His
tail is edged with white-tipped feath-
ers so that in looking at him from a,
bove or below it seems to be border
ed with thumb marks.
The black-billed birds are generally
brown above and white below. They
do not possess the exquisite tail ser.
rations of the yellowbilled. The lat
ter measures twelve and one-fourth
inches from the tip of it's beak to the
tip of it's tail, whereas the black billed
is one-half inch shorter.
The cuckoos, or rain crows, are
very valuable from an economic stand
point. Probably no other birds sur.
pass them in the amount Of distruct.
i've insects and larvae that they ac.
count for. In 1909 stomachs of the
yellow-bllcd the following assort.
ments of crop-kilers was found: cat.
erpillars, 1865; beetles, 90; grass.
hoppers, PA; bugs, SO; spiders, Sc
sawflies, 81; other flies, 6. A single
wheel-bug was the only useful insect
eaten.
Examination of the black billed
Dirds disclosed the TACT that they like
the same menu as the yellow billed
and that they have a stronger appe.
tite for squash-bugs, which are par.
ticularly harmful. OF the two vari.
eties Of these flying friends Of the
farmers the Bureau of Biological
Survey says: "These species are much
given to eating caterpillars, and, un-
ike most birds, do not reject those
covered with hair. In fact, cuckoos
cat 50 many hairy caterpillars that
the hairs ricrce the inner lining of
he stomach and remain there.
The preservation Of our birds il our
patriotic duty. They eat the y, ST.
which eat tnc Ne:n and plants TIA;
are needed for our boys in khaki, the
people Of the allied nations, and our
selves.-Our Dumb Animals.