Our Cuckoos are ghosts of the underbrush, slipping thru the woods like shadows. Their loud kuk — kuk — kuk — kuks are entirely out of keeping with the birds' manners and appearance. Sharp eyes are needed to spy the slim satin-olive specter peering in crouching position from its perch.
The superstitious consider them ill omens and they are accused of robbing other birds' nests. There seems to be good ground for this accusation altho I have never surprised one in commission of the crime.
Southern Canadian provinces. West to South Dakota, Nebraska and Oklahoma. South to Gulf States.