GREY CUCKOO. 127 



conduct of theirs seems the more strange that it contrasts with 

 that of other little birds, even of the same species, but espe- 

 cially Swallows, which fly after and endeavour to molest it. 



Mr Durham Weir has sent me the following notes having 

 reference to this subject : " ' There is one point," says a modern 

 naturalist, ' in the anomalous history of the Cuckoo, which has 

 not been so well authenticated as the rest, and that is, whether 

 the male falls into the same dupery as the female, and aids in 

 rearing the Cuckoo V That he sometimes assists the female, in 

 giving food to her adopted young one, I can affirm, as several 

 instances have occurred to my knowledge. In June 1835, the 

 following one came under my notice. Upon the top of JNIony- 

 foot Hill, Linlithgowshire, I knew a Titlark's nest built under 

 a bush of heath. It contained five eggs, one of which had been 

 deposited in it by a Cuckoo. The rightful owners, a few days 

 after they had been hatched, were lying dead on the ground, 

 having been turned out by the intruder, wdio became the sole 

 occupant of the nest. One afternoon, I observed the male and 

 female Titlarks repeatedly flying in with worms and flies in 

 their bills, and feeding the nestling with the greatest care and 

 anxiety. ^Yhen I went near the nest, they hovered about me, 

 uttering their cry of alarm. They always flew off together, and 

 returned with the food which they had obtained. When about 

 three weeks old, this young Cuckoo assumed an air of boldness, 

 and when I handled it, it ruffled its feathers, and put itself in 

 an attitude of defence. I took it home with me, and kept it 

 between four and five months. It soon became very tame and 

 even familiar. It was at times fierce and pugnacious, and when 

 teased, it came out of its cage and fought with my fingers, spar- 

 ring and buffeting with its wings, like a game-cock. Its vo- 

 racity was insatiable. The Cuckoo for some weeks after it is 

 fully fledged, is fed by its foster parents. When they see any 

 one approaching their charge, they give it instant warning, on 

 which it flies off to some distance. These young birds are so 

 very shy, that although I have pursued them for hours, I have 

 seldom been able to get within shot of them.'''' 



In a subsequent communication, dated the 16th July 1S38, 

 he presents the following very interesting account of a young 



