June 09, 1963 - Black-billed and Yellow-billed CuckoosBlack- billed and Yellow - billed Cuckoos
Exclusive Sunday Review sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven
Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenbugh Cutchogue
Bird photography has always
been my first interest and it is
with great expectations that I
Look forward each year to adding
new .and exciting pictures to my
collection. Over the holidays I sat
for hours in a hot and cramped
Wind at the top of a 20 ft ladder
taking pictures of a green heron
nesting in a stattod of pines tar
from today's busy world.
Later on the ground only a few
hundred feet from the heron's nest
I photographed a chewink as it
busily fed its ,young within a few
arms' length of my camera. That
same afternoon, through the good
graces of Judd Bennett, who of-
ten adds to this column, I was
able to photograph the r a r e r
hairy woodpecker from the top of
a high ladder, as time and again
he went off only to return with
a mouthful of inchworms for Iris
ever - hungry family. I knew this
woodpecker to be large but never
Appreciated his size fully until I
viewed him close at hand through
my, camera lens.
Earlier in the season I had the
pleasure of photographing the fast
disappearing bluebird t h a t so
many of us remember from years
gone by. I discovered this gem
while camping at Wildwood State
Park, an area, by the way, that
is a credit to our park system
here on Long Island. More of
these areas and less fancy super
highways would to me seem a
much more far - sighted proposi-
tion for the future generation —
but that's another story.
The highlight of my camera ad-
ventures' came when Judd Ben-
nett found a woodcock nesting in
the East Marion woods and of
course this master of camouflage
soon name under. my camera's
lens.
All this leads to the future when
I hope some of you, my readers,
will help me, By this I m e a n
should you know of an unusual
nesting site of a bird that is with-
in reasonable reach, I'd apprec-
iate your dropping me a note.
Should you have a bird I have
not photographed 'in the past, then
in all likelihood you'll hear from
me or see me.
Right now I have on my agen-
da to photograph the cardinal,
kinghird,-piping plover, mourning
dove, thrasher, redstart and the
cuckoo. This mysterious bird that
most of us-. know by sound but
seldom see. has always been high
on my preferred list. It's a far
cry from the cuckoo we all know
in the cuckoo c] ks for it does
not even have aµ koo call. As
a matter of fact the song of the
cuckoo, if it' n'be called that
is one of tho strangest of all
bird calls. Tokae it brings back
memories of ".only one place —
New Guinea. Many years a go
when I was in the service I recall
the wild and erratic calls of that
rain- drenched area. It's still a
tropical or deep swamp call to
me.
The cuckoo is about as evasive
as the chat for its only occasion-
ally we get a glimpse of this
longtailed slnder brownish bird
with white underparts. Often it is
difficult to tell whether it is a
yellow - billed or black - billed cuc-
koo because of their close simi-
larity. Somestimes the ,yediew bil-
led cuckoo can be distinguished
from the black- billed by its rufous
wings and white circles under the
tail. Should your glasses, be extra
good and you are privileged to
get a better look before he slips
into the denser cover, the red
eye ring identifies the black -bil-
led from the yellow.
It's odd that the name euckoo
should be so well known and yet
in the new world the bird itself
is so little known. In Europe the
cuckoo takes the place of our
cowbird in habit by laying its
eggs 'in other bird's nests. Over
here our cuckoo does not usually
follow his old country ways but
occasionally will drop an egg into
a chipping sparrow's, cardinal's,
catbird's, wood thrush's or an-
other cuckoo's nest.
As parents both the black and
yellow - billed do well by t h e i r
young with the exception of build-
ing a home. In nest building they,
can only be compared with the
dove or heron for the nest is but
a handful of hastily placed twigs
that often is os flimsy the eggs
can be literally seen through the
bottom.
Right now I have a black - billed
cuckoo nesting in our woods and
as soon as the weather clears I
will be out to record this bird
on film. Although this hobby takes
considerable time and patience,
I feel it is doubly rewarding be-
cause we not only have a perm-
anent record to view during the
cold nights of winter but we get
to know the birds and their hab-
its at close hand which otherwise
would he impossible.
Send any comments to observa-
tions to Paul Stoutenburgh, Box
105, Bay Avenue, Cutchogue, New
York.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS I
Laurence Ernest reports:
Southampton — May 25-M
Green Heron
Clapper Rail
Seasidi3 Sparrows
Sooty Shearwaters
(2)