YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO
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The yellow-billed cuckoo is found locally from May until October. A more common name is "rain crow" bestowed on him by farmers who believe his guttural calling on a summer day bespeaks rain. It is a raucous sound unlike that of any other bird and is a great help in identification. Other names given it are storm crow, chow-chow and kow-kow.

The "rain crow" is a graceful flyer moving through the tree tops Iike a disembodied spirit. Because of this habit, it has a reputation, perhaps undeservedly, for destroying the eggs of other birds. According to experts, its favorite food is tent caterpillars. Observers have reported a single cuckoo eating up to fifty in less than ten minutes. Other food taken consists of locusts, gypsy moth caterpillars and May flies.

The yellow-billed cuckoo has a long, slim body and is richly dressed in a soft grayish-brown coat and a white waist coat. With binoculars, the yellow bill can be easily seen as can the black tail feathers adorned with white patches.

Unlike its European counterpart, the American version builds its own nest, but does not spend much effort on it. A few loose sticks and twigs are woven together so sparsely thin that often the eggs are visible through the nest.

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