THE CUCKOO 



CUCULUS CANORUS 



Although there can be no doubt that the Cuckoo 

 is far more often heard than seen, and even 

 less frequently identified when actually observed, 

 it is a universal favourite. Its distinctive note, so 

 characteristic of our English spring, is the secret of 

 its popularity. We may not see the mysterious 

 stranger, which seems to bear spring northwards 

 upon its wings, but there is no missing the fascinating 

 cry. The Cuckoo, again, confines himself to no 

 particular area or locality, and this universal distri- 

 bution over the country is another reason for the 

 estimation in which he is popularly held. The 

 Cuckoo is dispersed throughout the British Islands, 

 even extending to most of the Hebrides, to the 

 Orkneys and the Shetlands. Outside the British 

 limits the Cuckoo is a bird of very wide range, 

 inhabiting the entire Palsearctic region du.ing 

 summer, from the Atlan ic to the Pacific, and as 



far north as the limits of forest growth. It breeds 



2S2 



