^'°L 7"1 Barrett, Cuckoo Notes. 



1905 



21 



Fantail {Rliipidiira albiscapa). the Red-browed Finch [Mgiiiilia 

 temporalis), and many other charming Httle birds flit busily about 

 in the sunhght ; while among the tall timber on the mountain 

 slopes such species as the Great Brown Kingfisher {Dacelo gigas), 

 the Butcher-Bird {Cracticus destructor), and the Rosella {Platycercus 

 eximius) are most frequently seen. It was to the Cuckoos, however, 

 that our attention was mainly devoted, and as we had good oppor- 

 tunities for observing these birds, some of our field notes may 

 prove interesting to others. 



In early September the melancholy notes of the Pallid Cuckoo 

 {Ciicitlus pallidus) were heard among the multitudinous bird-voices 

 of the valley, and soon afterwards the Fan-tailed Cuckoo {Caco- 

 mantis flabeUijormis) made its appearance, together with the Bronze- 

 Cuckoo {Chalcococcyx plagosus) and the Narrow-billed Bronze- 

 Cuckoo (C basalts). During the month individuals of these four 

 species arrived in increasing numbers, and were evidently searching 

 for suitable nests in which to deposit their eggs, for a day seldom 

 passed now without a Cuckoo being seen darting through the trees 

 hotly pursued by a mob of small, angry birds (Wrens, Honey-eaters, 

 Tits, &c.) While watching one of these chases the question arose, 

 are these birds pursuing the Cuckoo because they are really con- 

 scious of its intention to shirk parental cares by leaving its Qg^ 

 in one of their nests, or do they mistake it for some bird of prey ? 

 If the former be the case, why do birds whose nests have been 

 wronged remain apparently ignorant of the nature of the alien 

 eg§^ ; and when the young Cuckoo is hatched and has murdered 

 its foster-brethren, why do they guard and feed the parasite with 

 as much solicitude as they would their own offspring had these 

 survived ? This is certainly a difficult question, and to complicate 

 the problem we found several nests containing only addled Cuckoos' 

 eggs, which would lead one to suppose that the owners of these nests 

 had detected the imposition and abandoned their homes. The 

 manner in which the Cuckoo deposits its eggs in the nest has never 

 been satisfactorily explained, and although we often saw one of 

 these birds in the vicinity of a nest which was afterwards found to 

 contain an egg of its species, we were unable to catch one in the 

 act. It seems highly probable, however, that those species whose 

 eggs are placed in covered nests first lay the egg on the ground, 

 and then, bearing it in their wide beak to the chosen nest, drop it 

 gently in. It would be quite impossible for such a large bird as 

 the Fan-tailed Cuckoo [Cacomantis fiabellijormis), for instance, to 

 enter the nest of the White-browed Scrub- Wren {Sericornis frontalis), 

 where its eggs are commonly found, without considerably enlarging 

 the entrance to the nest ; and I cannot recall a single instance in 

 which one of the many domed nests we examined, containing 

 Cuckoos' eggs, showed an aj^pearance of having been entered by 

 any but the rightful owners. Being anxious to obtain photographs 

 of the early life of the young Cuckoo, we selected a nest of the 

 Blue Wren {Malitriis cyaneiis) which contained two Wren's eggs 

 and one of the Narrow-billed Bronze-Cuckoo (C basalts). This we 



