92 BRITISH BIRDS. 1vol. vi. 



amazing and ludicrous. They seemed in a much greater 

 hurry to get food than even other foster-parents, and never 

 stayed a moment after parting with the morsel. The Cuckoo 

 was in s]:)lendid condition, but seemed very hungry, and kept 

 up its food-cry nearly the whole time I watched. After 

 "ringing" him I left him to them, and am hoping that there 

 will be more in Wrens' nests in the same locality next year. 



On July 14th, 1912, 1 was watching a pair of Hedge-Sparrows 

 feeding a young Cuckoo, and noticed that a pair of Wrens 

 had a nest with young quite near. I soon located the nest, 

 and then noticed that one Wren seemed to be very quick in 

 delivering the food. It soon da^^'ned on me that this Wren 

 was helping to feed the young Cuckoo, and that only one 

 Wren was attending to its own young. I made the nest 

 containing the Cuckoo more open to view, and retired to watch 

 with my field-glasses. Soon I was joined bj^ thi'ee boys 

 (members of the Felsted School Scientific Society, and two of 

 them keen bird-watchers), and between us we made certain 

 that there were only two Wrens about. On July 16th I went 

 to try and get a photograph of the Wren feeding the Cuckoo, 

 but did not secure one good enough for reproduction. The 

 W'ren did not mind the camera much. The Hedge-Sparrows 

 were much more timid, and seemed to be losing interest in 

 the Cuckoo. On the following day I visited the spot again, 

 but the Wren proved curiously timid, and I did not get a 

 photograph at all. The Hedge-Sparrows never came near 

 the nest, but I saw one in the next field. That evening the 

 •Cuckoo had left the nest and was perched near it. The 

 Hedge-Sparrows did not come near it, although I watched 

 from a distance. The Wren kept feeding it until after 

 8.30 p.m. 



As a possible explanation of this behaviour, I may state 

 that the Wrens fetched food out of a bean-field near by, and in 

 their journeys to and from this field to their omti nest they 

 passed the nest containing the young Cuckoo ; it may be 

 supposed that the Wren once yielded to the Cuckoo's cry for 

 food, and afterwards continued to feed him. Also the " food- 

 cry " of the nestling Wren appears to me more like that of the 

 young Cuckoo than is the " food-cry " of anj^ other nestling. 



J. H. Owen. 



HONEY-BUZZARD IN Co. ANTRIM. 



An adult male Honey-Buzzard (Peniis a. apivortis) was 

 shot at Shane's Castle, co. Antrim, on .July 13th, 1912. I 

 had an opportunity of examining it wliilst it was being 

 skinned at Messrs. Sheals, the Belfast taxidermists : it was in 



