Argentine Ornithology Volume Ii Part 8

(CHESTNUT CUCKOO.)

+Piaya cayana+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108; _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p. 361 (Tuc.u.man); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 619 (Misiones).

_Description._--Above deep chestnut-red: beneath pale grey, pa.s.sing into blackish on the crissum; throat and neck pale chestnut-brown; tail-feathers beneath brown, more or less blackish, and, except the middle pair which are like the back, broadly tipped with white: whole length 160 inches, wing 55, tail 105. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Central and South America.

This is a widely-spread form of Cuckoo in Central and South America, and reaches the northern territories of the Argentine Republic, having been obtained by Durnford near Tuc.u.man, and by White in Misiones. The whole bird is about 18 inches long, and the tail very long in proportion, about 11 inches. The entire plumage, except the breast and belly, which are grey, is chestnut colour. The beak is very strong, and yellowish green in colour; the irides, ruby-red, the eyelids scarlet.

In Colombia this Cuckoo is said to be called _Pajaro ardilla_ (Squirrel-bird), from its chestnut tint. It seems to feed chiefly, if not altogether, on the ground, and when perched always appears awkward and ill-at-ease. On a branch it sits motionless, until approached, and then creeps away through the leaves and escapes on the opposite side of the tree. This, however, is a habit common to most Cuckoos. Its language is a loud screaming cry, on account of which the Brazilians call it _Alma do gato_, implying that it possesses the soul of a cat. It is a very shy retiring bird, and in this respect is more like a _Coccyzus_ than a _Guira_.

For these facts we are indebted to Leotaud, Fraser, Forbes, White, and others; each of these observers having contributed a few words to a history of this interesting bird's habits.

271. COCCYZUS AMERICa.n.u.s (Linn.).

(YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO.)

+Coccyzus america.n.u.s+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108; _Sclater, P.

Z. S._ 1872, p. 490 (Buenos Ayres); _Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p.

468 (Lomas de Zamora).

_Description._--Above grey; ear-coverts blackish; wings in interior rufous, which shows more or less externally: beneath white, greyish on the throat; tail-feathers, except the two central which are like the back, black broadly tipped with white; bill with the lower mandible orange-yellow, except at the tip: whole length 120 inches, wing 57, tail 57. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ North and Central America and Colombia; occasional in Brazil and Argentina.

This is a well-known inhabitant of the United States, where it is a regular summer visitant, pa.s.sing the winter months in Central America and the West Indies, and being also occasionally met with during this season in Brazil. In the Argentine Republic it is very rare, and the few specimens found were all seen late in the autumn, after other summer visitors had left. I can only account for the lateness of these birds on the supposition that, being low fliers, excessively shy, and eminently forest birds, they shrunk from traversing the wide open plains which offer no kind of shelter or protection, and so remained in the isolated plantations which rise like little islands of greenery in the sea-like level of the pampas.

272. COCCYZUS MELANOCORYPHUS, Vieill.

(BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO.)

+Coccyzus melanocoryphus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 186 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 28 (Entrerios); _Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p. 468 (Lomas de Zamora). +Coccyzus seniculus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p.

444 (Parana, Tuc.u.man).

_Description._--Above pale greyish brown; head cinereous; a black stripe through the eyes: beneath white, more or less tinged with ochraceous; tail black, tipped with white; two central rectrices like the back; bill black: whole length 115 inches, wing 47, tail 57. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ South America.

The "Coucou," so called from its note, is the commonest species of the genus in the Argentine Republic, and has an extensive range in South America. In September it migrates south, and a pair or a few individuals reappear faithfully every spring in every orchard or plantation on the pampas. At intervals its voice is heard amidst the green trees--deep, hoa.r.s.e, and somewhat human-like in sound, the song or call being composed of a series of notes, like the syllables _cou-cou-cou_, beginning loud and full and becoming more rapid until at the end they run together. It is a shy bird, conceals itself from prying eyes in the thickest foliage, moves with ease and grace amongst the closest twigs, and feeds princ.i.p.ally on large winged insects, for which it searches amongst the weeds and bushes near the ground.

The nest is the flimsiest structure imaginable, being composed of a few dry twigs, evidently broken by the bird from the trees and not picked up from the ground. They are laid across each other to make a platform nest, but so small and flat is it that the eggs frequently fall out from it. That a bird should make no better preparation than this for the great business of propagation seems very wonderful. The eggs are three or four in number, elliptical in form, and of a dull sea-green colour.

273. COCCYZUS CINEREUS, Vieill.

(CINEREOUS CUCKOO.)

[Plate XIII.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: COCCYZUS CINEREUS.]

+Coccyzus cinereus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108; _Hudson, P. Z.

S._ 1870, p. 88 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 620 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 28 (Entrerios); _Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p. 468 (Lomas de Zamora).

_Description._--Above cinereous, wings blackish; tail above blackish, beneath cinereous; lateral rectrices tipped with white: beneath, throat and breast pale cinereous, pa.s.sing into white in the middle of the belly; under wing-coverts, flanks, and crissum ochraceous; bill black: whole length 90 inches, wing 45, tail 45.

_Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Paraguay and Argentine Republic.

The Cinereous Cuckoo is smaller than the preceding species, and also differs in having a square tail and a more curved beak. The beak is black, and the irides blood-red, which contrasts well with the blue-grey of the head, giving the bird a bold and striking appearance.

This species is not common, but it is, I believe, slowly extending its range southwards, as within the last few years it has become much more common than formerly. Like other Cuckoos, it is retiring in its habits, concealing itself in the dense foliage, and it cannot be attracted by an imitation of its call, an expedient which never fails with the Coucou.

Its language has not that deep mysterious, or _monkish_ quality, as it has been aptly called, of other _Coccyzi_. Its usual song or call, which it repeats at short intervals all day long during the love-season, resembles the song of our little dove (_Columbula picui_), and is composed of several long monotonous notes, loud, rather musical, but not at all plaintive. It also has a loud harsh cry, which one finds it hard to believe to be the voice of a Cuckoo, as in character it is more like the scream of a Dendrocolaptine species.

The figure (Plate XIII.) is taken from a specimen of this species obtained by Mr. Frank Withington in the Lomas de Zamora, and now in Sclater's collection.

274. COCCYZUS PUMILUS, Strickl.

(DWARF CUCKOO.)

+Coccyzus pumilus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108; _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 28, (Entrerios).

_Description._--Above brownish cinereous, head grey; tail like the back, but tail-end black with narrow white tips: beneath, throat and breast chestnut-red; abdomen white; under wing-coverts and crissum ochraceous: whole length 90 inches, wing 40, tail 42. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ South America.

Of this little Cuckoo, the smallest of the genus _Coccyzus_, specimens were obtained by Mr. Barrows at Concepcion in Entrerios, in the month of December. The species was only previously known to occur in Venezuela and Colombia.

Fam. XXVIII. RHAMPHASTIDae, or TOUCANS.

In the second edition of his 'Monograph of the Toucans,' Gould admits 51 species of this fine and peculiar group, which are scattered over the forests of Tropical America, from Southern Mexico to Northern Argentina.

Several others have been since described.

The Toucans are large birds exclusively arboreal in their habits, and feeding mostly, if not entirely, upon fruit. A single species of wide distribution reaches its southern limit in the forests of the northern Argentine provinces.

275. RHAMPHASTOS TOCO, Gm.

(TOCO TOUCAN.)

+Rhamphastos toco+, _Gould, Mon. Rhamphast._ ed. 2, pl. i.; _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 620 (Oran and Misiones).