Bird Gods in Ancient Europe 



not observed that in all such cases the cuckoo 

 did not get out because it could not. In 

 other words, it was a pris- 

 oner owing to the stupid- 

 ity of its parent. 



The mother cuckoo 

 prefers sheltered nests of 

 other birds for her furtive 

 laying, and often cannot 

 get into the nest, or is too 

 sharply watched by the lit- 

 tle birds to allow her the 

 time. She then lays her 

 egg on the ground, takes 

 it delicately in her beak, 

 watches the propitious moment and deposits it 

 in the nest. Often this nest is in the hollow 

 of an old willow and has been chosen by the 

 little birds because of its narrow entrance. This 

 is an additional safeguard against intruders. In 

 her hurry to commit her beguilement Madam 

 Cuckoo does not reason that if the entrance 

 6 8i 



