HARD WICKE 'S SCIENCE ■ G OS SI P. 



23 



brought by the Golden Grove. The cat passed into 

 the possession of a pensioner of the Imperial Govern- 

 ment, who settled in Gundagai in 1839, and who was 

 drowned in the local deluge of June, 1852, 



The Cuckoo. — Too much has already been said 

 about the cuckoo, but having many opportunities of 

 observing its habits I cannot resist adding to it. I 

 have seen a good many nests with cuckoos' eggs in 

 them, and all were the same size and colour, but all 

 were in the nests of the meadow pipit or the sky- 

 larks. I never saw a cuckoo's egg in any other nest. 

 The cuckoo does not suck nor destroy the eggs that 

 hers are deposited with, but I have known several 

 instances of the cuckoo extracting one egg in place of 

 that she had left, and on one occasion I was an eye- 

 witness of the fact. Having got the nest of a meadow 

 pipit one night about eight o'clock and while examin- 

 ing the three eggs (only three had been laid at that 

 time) my attention was directed to the cuckoo circling 

 round me, and thinking it had something to do with 

 the nest I concealed myself, and had the satisfaction 

 of seeing the cuckoo alight at it. I waited about ten 

 minutes, but my curiosity was greater than my 

 patience, I therefore scared her away, and found 

 nothing but the three eggs as before. But concealing 

 myself again the cuckoo returned, and giving her no 

 disturbance this time I was surprised when she left to 

 find one of the pipit's eggs gone, and the cvickoo's 

 substituted in its place. Now if the cuckoo carried 

 her egg in her bill to the nest she would have nothing 

 to do but place it there and leave it, but this was not 

 the case, the pipit's nest was much disfigured with 

 the transaction, and the pipit screamed loudly all the 

 time. I have seen the cuckoo destroy young birds by 

 throwing them out. of the nest, and tearing them with 

 her bill ; but what could be her reason I could not 

 conceive, unless it was to make them lay again and 

 have a chance of disposing of her egg. I saw two 

 young cuckoos in the nest this year, one I took home 

 and fed it on gooseberry caterpillars, but all the cater- 

 pillars I could get were soon exhausted, it had such 

 a wonderful appetite. I then gave it the flesh of 

 small birds, which it took with great relish, and 

 though it was quite tame and healthy, it was discon- 

 tented with confinement, and after keeping it a few 

 weeks I gave it its liberty. — W. Sim. 



The Cuckoo. — Once more I intrude a few obser- 

 vations, and I would direct attention to that qitcvstio 

 vexata, the Cuckoo. Probably no member of the 

 vertebrate kingdom has provoked more discussion 

 than this bird. The recent numbers of the Science- 

 Gossip have furnished the lovers of nature with 

 many interesting details relating to this truly won- 

 derful bird ; old authorities have been searched ; old 

 theories brought out in a new form ; and some of the 

 most ingenious of Science - Gossip contributors 

 have ventured to launch forth original remarks 

 founded upon facts or surmisal. One of your con- 

 tributors in the last number quotes a remarkable 

 passage from Bishop Stanley's " History of Birds," 

 which, if wholly reliable, tends to intensify the 

 mystery in which the habits of this bird are in- 

 volved. Bishop Stanley, I may mention, also relates 

 an instance in which a young cuckoo was adopted 

 by a young thrush, and the protege, with the base 

 spirit of ingratitude, took one of the thrush's eyes 

 out, because it could not resist the temptation of 

 swallowing a fine plump worm, which the cuckoo 

 had expected to receive. The sporting naturalist 

 Vaillant, after having shot several golden cuckoos 

 (Cticiilus auratus) with eggs of their species in their 

 gullets, came to the conclusion "that the female 



cuckoo deposits her egg in the nest of another bird, 

 conveying it thither in her beak." The persistent 

 mobbing of the cuckoo by smaller birds, which one 

 sometimes sees, is due, either to its accipitrine-like 

 contour, or to a knowledge of its habits and propen- 

 sities. A bird which was a source of error to the 

 older naturalists, from Aristotle to Pliny, has still 

 many points in its biography which are controver- 

 tible. If we admit that it possesses the power of dis- 

 cerning the different colours, when it places its eggs 

 in the nest of a bird whose eggs correspond to its 

 own ; or, that it has some regard to number when 

 it cautiously and with great foresight, places its egg 

 in a nest where the laying is not completed, so as 

 to secure the incubation of its egg; also, when it 

 breaks one of the eggs in the nest, after introducing 

 its own, so as to make the number the same as 

 before ; or that it possesses prudence, when it only 

 puts one egg in each nest, thus providing effectually 

 for the welfare of its offspring, the foster-parents 

 not being able to meet a greater demand upon their 

 resources — by subscribing unconditionally to all these 

 facts, we must admit that the cuckoo has perfect 

 reasoning powers, and, consequently, real intelli- 

 gence. In short, this bird is a great example of the 

 endless variety of ways and means which nature 

 adopts for the perpetuity of species ; every prepara- 

 tion is made, and all possible contingencies provided 

 for. — F. L. C. Richardson. 



Albinism in Birds. — In addition to the list 

 "A. P." gives of the birds that have been found 

 white or ivoiy-coloured, I may mention the follow- 

 ing : — Kestrel {Falco Tinnimcidus) ; green wood- 

 pecker [Picits viridis) ; redwing ( Tiirdus iliacns) ; 

 fieldfare { Titrdtts pilaris) ; curlew {Nmnenitis ar- 

 qiiata) ; landrail (Gallimila crex) ; snipe (Scolopax 

 g'allinago) ; wood-pigeon {Columba paliimbns) ; 

 missel-thrush ( Turdiis viscivorus) ; wren (Sylvia 

 trochihis) ; house-martin {Hirundo nrbica) ; crow 

 {Co!~ziHS corone) ; partridge [Perdix cinered) ; pheasant 

 (Phasiajius colchicus), andwoodlark {Alauda arbor ea). 

 Two or three of the above I have in my possession, 

 and the others have been proved from various reliable 

 sources. — C. D. Wolstenholvie. 



The Wryneck. — I once kept a young wryneck 

 for some time, and always fed it on house-flies. It 

 did not generally eat the legs and wings, but preferred 

 the fleshy parts of the insects. It ate very voraciously. 

 I may add that it was anything but shy, and would 

 eat from any one's hand. — A. H. 



Woollen Moths. — I am much pleased to see 

 that the subject of destroying woollen moths has 

 given rise to so much discussion in Science-Gossip. 

 I agree with Mr. J. S. Wesley to a certain extent, but 

 I must say I think the most eft'ectual way of destroying 

 the larva that is in the woollen material is to tie 

 them in a bundle, and bake the material for a short 

 time, thereby destroying all life eggs, &c., then well 

 brush, and place them in the drawer if you like. — 

 ]Villia?n Bean. 



Communications Received up to 8th ult. from : — 

 G. H. K.— T. S.— W. B.— G. S.— A. R. G.— E. S. L.— R. M. M. 

 — W. E. G.— F. S.— A. B.— T. S. W.— S. C. A.— Dr. H. P.— 

 L. H. H.-W. G. P.— A. M.— F. J. G.— D. A.— O. P. C— 

 J. B.-J. W. M.— J. W. S — F. C— R. M. C— Mrs. G.— 

 J. J. M.— W. T. V. D.— Dr. G.-R. G.— J. W. G.-W. G. P. 

 -C. W.-F. C.-H. A.-E. T. S.— M.-B.-A. C. S.-T. B. 

 -W. L. S.— H. F. W.— E. D. M.— Dr. J. A.- H. N. R.— 

 W. S.-A. S. G.— W. B.-D. B.-J. B.-C. D.-F. C.-W. S. 

 —J. P.— J. B. jun.— J. W.— V. M. A.— G. P.-C. A. G.— 

 A. M.-T. D. R.-A. J. R. S.-W. H. W.-Dr. J. H.- 

 T. C. M.-L. P.-C. W. S.-H. L.-T. H. P.-Dr. P. Q. K. 

 _j. w. O.— T. C. R. G.— A. P.— J. L.— S. C. M.— H. M.^ 

 &c., &c. 



