I50 



the grass. I visited the place in the evening to see 

 how it was getting on, ])ut could not find it anywhere 

 about the meadow, nor in the wood. I was not sorr}-, 

 for if it had been anywhere about, and I had not 

 seen any bird feeding it, no doubt I should have taken 

 it home again and tried what a little more patience 

 would do. I only hope it found some kind foster- 

 parents, and that they had a better knack of teaching 

 it to feed itself than I had. 



Another experience I had with a 3'oung Cuckoo 

 was brought about in a very singular wa}-. I put up 

 a pair of Canaries for breeding, rather late in the 

 season, which went to nest and laid three eggs, one of 

 which got broken and the other two were clear. I 

 thought I would try them with a couple of Linnet's 

 eggs, so I had a ramble and found a nest containing 

 four eggs. I noticed one was a little larger and lighter 

 in colour than the other three eggs, but I did not think 

 anything of it at the time, and brought it away with 

 one smaller one and placed them under the Canary hen. 

 In a few days, after feeding the Canaries one morning, 

 I noticed the hen go to the nest and feed a young 

 bird. I had a look in and was delighted to see that 

 they had hatched out a young bird, and left them in 

 the hope that the other Qgg would be hatched out by 

 the next da3^ When I went to feed them the next 

 morning the hen was on the nest, and, being pressed 

 for time, I did not see if the egg was hatched out. 

 On going in, on the following morning, to feed, I 

 found the other egg broken on the floor of the cage, 

 and a chick dead inside. Of course I blamed the hen 

 Canary, and told her what a careless old thing she 

 was — but after investigating matters it appeared that I 

 had wrongfully accused her, for on lifting the nest 

 box out I found, to ni}' great surprise, a young 

 Cuckoo. I fed the Canaries on the usual egg and 

 biscuit, seed, lettuce, etc. On this diet, and nothing 



