THE BIRD INVISIBLE. 229 



procession, she is there to make war upon them. When the 

 canker-worms are cutting up the leaves till the trees are stark 

 naked, then Cuckoo comes to fight them. She cannot eat them 

 all, but she abates the nuisance even at its worst ; and more 

 often than we know for she nips the devastation before it has 

 grown great. The cuckoos are almost the only birds that will 

 touch a hairy caterpillar, but they eat the hairy, spiny sorts by 

 the hundreds at a meal. Being such a quiet, shy bird she is 

 present oftener than we think for ; and, working without pay 

 and without vacations, she is not a bad bird to keep around 

 the farm and garden. 



