THE CUCKOO AND HER EGGS. 



153 



But the birds are in happy ignorance of the honour intended for them. 

 The cuckoo flies stealthily about among the bushes, and visits first one nest 

 and then the other while the parents are away. She is very cunning, and seems 

 to know exactly the home that will suit her offspring. It must be fed on 





THE GOLDEN CUCKOO. 



caterpillars and grubs, and she chooses the little birds that provide such fare 

 for their families. She fixes on the hedge-sparrow, or the lark, or the black- 

 bird, and contrives to drop an egg in the nest. Her egg is small and goes 

 in very easily. But she has often been accused of destroying the other 



