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A you:n^g cuckoo reared by wrens. 



BY H. H. W. 



Amongst the fosterparents of the young Cuckoo mentioned by Yarrell 

 and others, the Common Wren [Troglodytes vulr/aris,) is not included, nor does 

 it occur to me that I have seen any record of an instance where the female 

 Cuckoo has intrusted the care of her egg to the above-named little deputy. 



A few days since, however, I had an opportunity of witnessing, with some 

 friends, the interesting, and, as I imagine, unusual occurrence alluded to, in 

 a cottage garden in the parish of Inkpen, Berks. The cottage was situated 

 close to a fir plantation, in which, as well as in the garden adjoining, the 

 Cuckoo had been constantly heard and seen from the earliest period of the 

 season. 



A pair of Wrens, well known in the garden, had built their nest in the 

 thatch of a wood house, immediately over the door-way. The cottager, aware 

 of the shy habits of the little birds, had on two occasions only introduced 

 his finorer into the nest. The first time he ascertained the presence of eggs. 

 The second time, namely, on the 25th. of June, he found young birds, more 

 than one little mouth encountering his finger as 'he imagined. Two or three 

 days subsequently a young bird was found upon the floor of the wood house, 

 immediately under the nest, which proved to be a Cuckoo. Nothing was seen 

 of any little Wrens, but it was suggested, as probable, that the cat might 

 have appropriated them, when ousted from above, for her own special use. 

 As the foundling had evidently fallen from the nest, an attempt was made 

 to replace it, but without success. The domicile was no longer capable of 

 containing its late overgrown occupant. The bird was therefore put into a 

 cage, and suspended from the branch of an apple tree close by, upon which 

 the Wrens without loss of time resumed their parental offices, and when we 

 visited the cottage on the 8th. of July, we had the pleasure of seeing them 

 employed, as it seemed, incessantly, and without being much impeded by our 

 observations, in feeding their insatiable nestling, which was then about ten days 

 old, nearly full fledged, and at least four times as large as either of its 

 diminutive protectors. 



When indeed a finger was intruded into the cage, ruffling its feathers, and 

 swelling itself out, it opened a mouth that appeared capable of swallowing its 

 fo.sterparents bodily. Independently of the satisfactory proof as to the nest 

 of the Wren being occasionally patronized by the Cuckoo, another fact seems 

 to be established. The nest in question was built at the edge of the thatched 

 roof, and had of necessity an inclination forwards; nor was the entrance larger 

 than ordinary, so that it was next to impossible that the intrusive egg could 

 have been deposited in the usual manner. It must therefore, have been 

 conveyed to its asylum in the mouth of the Cuckoo. 



The question was some time since discussed in "Kidd's Journal of Natural 

 History," and it has, I believe, been decided on good authority, that the Cuckoo 



