46 SECRETS OF ANIMAL LIFE 



smothered, but there is no doubt as to the general 

 accuracy of Jenner's description and Mrs. Black- 

 burn's drawing the young cuckoo clears the nest 

 by force. It is a mistake, however, to call it 

 "criminal" or "murderer," for it does not know 

 what it is doing. It has an instinctive capacity 

 for eviction, and that has in all likelihood arisen as 

 an elaboration and concatenation of certain peculi- 

 arities which are not very mysterious. Just as 

 there are children who cannot bear to be touched, 

 so the young cuckoo is hyper-sensitive to pressure 

 on particular parts of the body, such as the sides. 

 To certain pressures, inevitable in a nest which is 

 too small for it, it responds by throwing itself 

 backwards or by convulsive hitching movements of 

 legs and arms. The flabby infant becomes strong 

 with excitement, and performs feats of strength 

 which seem scarcely credible. In any case it gets 

 the nest to itself, and its foster-parents seem to be 

 quite proud of their unusually large baby, whose 

 appetite keeps them very busy. 



