The Cuclcoo. 91 



with caterpillars, and remembering that I had read somewhere 

 that these nasty insects were the natural food of the Cuckoo, 

 I collected a handful of them, and carried them indoors to 

 the young changeling, who speedily disposed of the lot, and 

 seemed so delighted and invigorated by the repast, that I 

 fed him on no other food as long as the supply lasted, which 

 was for a few weeks: they failed at last, however, and I 

 had to fall back upon raw meat, which the Cuckoo took 

 without apparent inconvenience — I suppose his digestion was 

 stronger then. Whenever I went out, I examined the hedges 

 and collected all the caterpillars for my bird, in whom I was 

 beginning to take a good deal of interest; for he had grown 

 a fine fellow, and could, when he liked, feed himself; though, 

 like a fat Chinese Mandarin, he much preferred having the 

 food crammed down his throat. 



One day, quite late in the autumn, towards the beginning 

 of November, as well as I recollect, I was driving home, and 

 espied some black hairy caterpillars feeding on some groundsel 

 by the road-side. To jump down and pop them into a small 

 tin-box I usually carried about with me, and which was called 

 ''the Cuckoo's larder", was the work of a few seconds. On 

 reaching home, I gave them to the Cuckoo, who devoured 

 them with much gusto, and in about an hour afterwards I 

 found him dead! 



I must confess that, all things considered, I was not incon- 

 solable for his loss, for he was, if handsome, and apparently 

 healthy, terribly dirty in his habits, extremely noisy, unsociable 

 and wild; and moreover I had doubts as to the possibility of 

 keeping him over the winter. 



The following season several boys brought me more youthful 

 Cuckoos, but I declined having anything to say to them. 



Herr Yon Schauroth and other amateurs give the Cuckoo 

 a bad character as a pet, and say that he is seldom kept 

 through the cold season successfully. I do not, for my part, 

 intend to make the attempt again. 



