212 Major R. F. Meiklejolm on the [Ibis, 



They hatch in ten or eleven daj's, and thus tlie young have 

 an advantage in this respect over those of their foster- 

 parents, and this, with their larger size and rapid growth, 

 enables them to obtain all the food, and the other inmates 

 of the nest, or tlie weaker Cow-birds, die of starvation. 

 Also the germ in the egg possesses extraordinary vitality 

 and remains alive even if not incubated for a long period, 

 and this may be the same in the case of the Cuckoo. 



As a general rule, then, Cuckoos' eggs can be identified 

 satisfactorily from those of the foster-parents, though ab- 

 normal eggs of other species are to be found in collections 

 labelled as those of Cuckoos ; and some of these might 

 on occasions pass as such, even with experts, when larger 

 size and abnormal shell-thickness occur together which, 

 however, is seldom the case. The shell o£ the Cuckoo's egg 

 is smooth but not glossy, and its relatively small size and 

 thick shell are admirable provisions of Nature to enable it 

 to be carried in the beak and deposited in the nests of other 

 species. 



How many Eggs does a Cuckoo lay each year ? 



Leaving Dr. Rey's 8th conclusion for the present, let 

 us consider the 9th and 10th, in which he says that each 

 female lays some twenty eggs each year, and that laying 

 takes place on alternate days. 



This, of course, is again based on his claim to be able to 

 assign every egg found to a specific female, and, as already 

 stated, I think this very questionable. 



Most authorities estimate the number at from five to ten, 

 and in the case of the Cow-birds eight to twelve is the general 

 opinion, though Major Bendire says that probably several 

 days elapse between the laying of each e^^, and that the 

 laying season appears to last two months. 



Dr. Rey's claims in support of snch a high number 

 do not seem convincing. He quotes a Captain Kriiger- 

 Velthusen in Brandenburg as giving the number of eggs 

 laid each year as twelve to seventeen, but seems to admit 

 that the observations of Walter and others did not produce 



