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Oct. 2004 - Vol. 65, No. 10

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Lingering Cuckoo

A yellow-billed cuckoo perches in a dense thicket of black willow on a dreary day in mid October. Soon the bird will migrate to South America. Cuckoos are secretive and rarely seen but their distinctive tropical sounding song can be heard during the breeding season. Early settlers called these birds "fish crows." --Jim Rathert