The Oologists' Record^ September i, 1921. 67 



enough in both places. The two nests were practically built but 

 contained no eggs. On the 19th June one nest was again empty, 

 but the second, nest contained one Wagtail's egg. At 9 a.m. on 

 the 20th the first nest still had no egg and the second Wagtail's 

 had two. I took up my post at noon, and at 12.55 the female 

 Cuckoo came over and rested on the hurdle gate. I lost this Cuckoo 

 at I o'clock, and can only assume that she was somewhere in the 

 grass. At 1.20 p.m. I noticed her again in the quarry, and she came 

 over to within 6 feet of me. I had taken up a position just above 

 No. I nest. She flew straight to the nest, her gape was wide open, 

 and I plainly saw an egg in her throat, in fact I was near enough to 

 see the red lining in her mouth between the egg and the base of 

 her beak. She was assaulting two Wagtails, which she continually 

 butted with her wings. They were undoubtedly the owners of 

 No. I nest. They would not leave her, and she turned and flew 

 straight to the second spot I saw her at on the i8th. The other 

 Cuckoos were still about, and it was a difficult matter to pick out 

 the bird I was watching. I managed to see her four or five times 

 enter the hole at the second spot. This was 1.45 p.m. In and out 

 she went, finally fl}'ing off in company with the others. It was 

 3 p.m. before I left my seat to investigate. No. i nest was only 

 6 feet away from me, and this was in the same condition as it was 

 earlier in the day, no doubt forsaken through the attention of the 

 Cuckoos on the i8th, and no doubt accounting for the Cuckoo's 

 assault on the Wagtail on the 20th. I went straight to spot No. 2, 

 and here found my two Cuckoo's eggs again for the third time with 

 one Wagtail's — 20th June. The apparently forsaken nest (No. i) 

 proved so subsequently, as it never contained eggs. 



The net result of my season's observations was three eggs from 

 the mother, eight from the daughter, three of which latter came 

 to grief, two by falls of chalk and one too hard set to blow. It 

 can be readily understood that the actual depositing of the Cuckoo's 

 egg was not seen, as the Cuckoo had to enter a hole each time, 

 which rendered her immune from observatioj:i. One can also 

 understand how easy a Wagtail's nest can be overlooked through 

 their selection of such cunning nesting places. The nest containing 

 the Cuckoo's egg on i6th May was built in a stack of chalk, and 

 had three small entrances. The nest was at least a foot in the chalk, 

 and how the Cuckoo managed to insert her egg I cannot understand. 

 I had to remove pieces of chalk before I could remove the eggs, and 



