32 BRITISH NESTING BIRDS 



and Tree Sparrows. Skylark, Meadow and Tree Pipits, etc. 

 Even blue eggs have been discovered. There are usually small 

 black specks on the egg, and in this way identification is made 

 doubly sure. Pale greyish-green or reddish-grey is the general 

 colour, more or less closely mottled, speckled, and spotted with 

 darker shades. 



Food. — Insects of various kinds, including butterflies and beetles. 

 Very fond of hairy larvae, especially those of the Drinker Moth. 



Voice. — Both male and female utter the well-known plaintive 

 double call. A kind of chattering cry is also emitted when the 

 bird is excited. The better-known notes are rarely heard after 

 the end of June. 



Chief Features. — The only British bird which does not rear its own 

 young. Probably no species has caused so*much controversy, 

 and it is still little understood. The young Cuckoo has the 

 extraordinary habit of ejecting eggs or young birds from the 

 nest in which it is born. Both, or either, are doomed, and when 

 two young Cuckoos are hatched in the same nest the Philistines 

 eject one another, and eventually the strongest alone survives. 

 The young Cuckoo is blind during these operations, and when 

 it receives its sight the desire to throw out anything ceases. A 

 Summer Migrant, well distributed all over the country, the 

 Cuckoo reaches us about mid-April, but makes an early depar- 

 ture in July or August, the young birds of the year following 

 later. The clean-cut wings and quick, gliding flight are features 

 worthy of note. 



Plumage. — Upper parts bluish-ash, somewhat of a darker character 

 on the wings, but lighter on neck and breast; whitish, with 

 transverse dusky streaks, underneath; quills barred on inner 

 webs with white oval spots; blackish tail feathers, tipped and 

 spotted with white. The beak is dusky, with a yellow edging; 

 orbits and inside of mouth yellow; iris and feet same colour. 

 The young are ash-brown barred with reddish-brown; the tips 

 of feathers are white, and there is a white spot on the back of 

 the head. Length. — Thirteen and a half inches. 



CURLEW, COMMON (Numenius arquata) 



Local Names. — Calloo, Stock Whaap, Whaap, Whitterick. 



Haunt. — Moors in Summer; mudbanks and saltings in Winter. 



Nesting Period. — End of April and early in May. 



Site of Nest. — Moors, heather-clad hills, etc. 



Materials Used. — Dry grass, twigs of heather, leaves of rushes or 

 sedges, etc. Nest is often placed in a depression in the ground, 

 and is usually well concealed by surrounding herbage. 



