DESCRIPTION, DISTRIBUTION, HABITS 



The Cuckoo. (Vol II., p. 93-) 



There are several species of cuckoos in South Africa. Their 

 food is entirely of an insectivorous nature, caterpillars con- 

 stituting the bulk of their diet. Cuckoos do not build nests or 

 rear their young. They are, in this respect, parasitical on a 

 variety of species of other birds. When the nest is of a suitable 

 kind, the cuckoo enters it and lays an egg therein and departs. 

 If the nest is of a nature which does not permit the entry of 

 the cuckoo, it lays an egg on the ground and, taking it up in 

 its mandibles, it flies to^tlie selected nest and deposits the egg 

 therein. Sometimes the cuckoo removes one of the host's eggs 

 to make room for its ow^n, as in the instance recorded in the 

 illustration on p. 59, Vol. I. Soon after birth the young 

 cuckoo ejects the other nestlings by heaving them over the edge 

 of the nest. This is made possible by a special adaptation of the 

 back and suitable strength of limbs, etc., provided by Nature 

 for the purpose. In many cases the nature of the nest does not 

 permit of the young cuckoo ejecting its foster brothers and 

 sisters. In these instances they are trampled to death by the big, 

 strong cuckoo baby, which now n\onopolises all the food brought 

 by its foster parents and, growing rapidly, soon fills the entire nest. 



This victimisation of other birds should not be allowed to 

 weigh against the cuckoo, as in the great majority of instances 

 the victims are bird pests, such as the bulbul and mouse bird, 

 or else they are of comparatively small economic value ; whereas 

 the cuckoo is of far-reaching value to man owing to the nature 

 of its diet and its voracious appetite. 



Haagner mentions that the great spotted cuckoo {Coccystes 

 glandarius) often lays two eggs in one nest, and that the young 

 cuckoos sometimes leave the young of the foster parents un- 

 molested. Occasionally as many as three cuckoos of different 

 species each lay an egg in one nest. Whether in these instances 

 the strongest cuckoo nestling ejects the other two is not recorded. 



Verreaux's Eagle Owl {Bubo lacteus). (Vol. II., p. 121.) 



Description. — Above dark grey, finely mottled with white, 



the masking on crown forming a transverse band. Wings 



143 



