into my possession, I have been distressed at the vain efforts I have made to deprive it of life. In various individuals that I have opened, I found large caterpillars, locusts, phasmata, spiders, phryni-spiders, and, upon one occasion, a whole mouse. Robinson found in one a large green anolis, six inches long, coiled up in a spiral manner, the head being in the centre. He states that it bruises the heads of lizards, and then swallows them head foremost. Mr. Hill kept a Rain Bird for several weeks. It seized cockroaches and other insects when put into its box, and ate fresh meat if chopped small. I have been able to ascertain nothing of the nest, except what the following note may afford:--A young friend informs me that he once observed a Rain Bird carrying 'trash' into the hollow or fork of the divergent limbs of a logwood-tree. Some little while after, passing that way, he observed a nest-like accumulation of similar substances; but as it was beyond reach, he took a long stick to poke it out. In doing so, he pushed out an egg, which was white, with many spots. 'When pairing,' observes Mr. Hill, 'the male bird attracts the female by gracefully displaying his feathers. The long, graduated tail is expanded, the short wings are spread, and the whole plumage is in motion, as the male endeavours, by playful dalliance, to win his mate's attention.'" * * * * * The LONG-TAILED CUCKOOS (_Pyrrhococcyx_) possess a comparatively slender body, and an elongate, slightly-arched, and hooked beak. The legs are strong, the tarsi slender, and the toes of medium size. The wings, in which the fifth quill exceeds the rest in length, are long. The long tail is composed of ten feathers, slightly rounded at their extremities. The plumage is thick, and unusually downy. THE LONG-TAILED CUCKOO. The LONG-TAILED CUCKOO (_Pyrrhococcyx Cayanus_), a well-known member of the above group, is of a light reddish brown over the mantle, and from the breast downwards of a deep grey; the tail-feathers are dark reddish brown above, and black beneath, with white tips. The length of this species is from eighteen to twenty-two inches, according to the size of the tail; the span of the pinions is seventeen inches, their length from five inches and a half to six inches and a half, and the tail from ten to fourteen inches. This Cuckoo, according to Burmeister, is spread over all the warm portions of America; and in Brazil, where it is very common, comes constantly down into the fields and gardens. Its flight, despite the shortness of the wings, is free and easy; its disposition brisk and active; and its call-note an oft-repeated, penetrating cry. These birds usually live in pairs, but frequently associate in parties while in pursuit of their insect prey. We have no reliable information as to the breeding of this species. * * * * *