CUCKOO 265 



middle of August, but as a rule all depart before Septem- 

 ber. This year (1865), however, my brother shot one on 

 the 11th of that month, the only instance, to my know- 

 ledge, of so late a stay." 



During Dr. A. G. Butler's bird's-nesting in Kent in 

 1875, he found some Cuckoo's eggs which he describes 

 as a " small reddish form, taken at Murston, May 29, 

 1875, from a Sedge-Warbler's nest. A larger greyish 

 form was taken at Tonge Mill, Tonge, June 5, 1875, from 

 a Reed-AVarbler's nest." 



In the Zoologist, 1878, Mr. A. Beale, of Chidding- 

 stone, Kent, states : " About two years ago I found two 

 Cuckoo's eggs in a Hedge-Sparrow's nest, both apparently 

 laid by one bird, as neither was similar to any other 

 Cuckoo's egg I have ever taken, but more resembled the 

 Pied Wagtail's egg in colour. I mention this, as in the 

 Introduction to Montagu's Dictionary of British Birds it 

 is stated that ' where two eggs have been found in one 

 nest, they certainly were laid by different birds.' I think 

 the above affords strong proof that one Cuckoo does 

 sometimes lay two eggs in the same nest." 



Cuckoo's Eggs. — " On June 5 of last year (1884) I 

 found in a nest two eggs of the Common Whitethroat 

 and a Cuckoo's. The Cuckoo's egg was unusually hand- 

 some, somewhat resembling a finely marked egg of the 

 Greenfinch, but having a rich creamy ground-colour. 

 Within a few minutes I found another, about a hundred 

 yards away, also in a Whitethroat's nest, and of a 

 precisely similar description : there were four AVhite- 

 throat's eggs slightly incubated. On June 17, another 

 Cuckoo's egg was found in a Whitethroat's nest, pre- 

 cisely similar to the above two. The position of this 

 nest was about equidistant from the others and some 



