YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO 



161 



should hunt out and study patiently, for like the 

 Waxwing it is an original character. As Mr. 

 Burroughs says, "something remote seems ever 

 weighing upon his mind." In ' Little Brothers 

 of the Air,' Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller gives an 



Fig. 83. 

 Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 



account of the performances of a pair of Cuckoos 

 which she watched nesting, and who tried by the 

 most remarkable but characteristic posturing and 

 ventriloqual calling to intimidate, mystify, and 

 lure her away from the brood. 



Great care must be taken in watching Cuckoo 

 nests, as the birds are very apt to desert them 

 when discovered. The Yellow-bill is one of the 

 poorest nest-builders ; and while the young often 

 do fall out of the nest, the wonder is that any are 

 ever able to stay on top of the loose mat of twigs 



