386 A Pet Cuckoo. [Sess. 



nest in Wigtownshire, and hand-reared. One of the great 

 secrets of success in bird-rearing is, of course, to know the 

 proper kind of food to give, and the cuckoo has an extensive 

 and varied diet. Its staple food, however, may he said to he 

 meal-worms, of which it is very fond. A small piece of raw 

 meat it regards as a delicacy, and in the season it has a little 

 chopped lettuce or some grated carrot made up with meal 

 into a kind of paste, in which there may be also a sultana 

 raisin or two. 



Last year the cuckoo moulted in February, and it is in the 

 same condition at present. After it was through the moult 

 last season, much to the surprise of its custodian the cuckoo 

 commenced its well-known call, and continued crying till 

 July. This is a very rare occurrence, and I am not aware of 

 any previous instance where the cuckoo has been known to 

 give voice in captivity. About the end of July it began to 

 exhibit a restlessness it had not previously shown. That it 

 felt the warnings of its instinct impelling it to fly to a more 

 congenial climate was very evident. After a time it quiet- 

 ened clown again, and began to moult its feathers a second 

 time. 



The cuckoo this year commenced to cry on the 7th of 

 April, exactly ones week earlier than last year. The note of 

 the bird was clearer and firmer last season than it has been 

 this. It has never been in a position to hear the note of its 

 wild companions, but has been reared among the shrieks of 

 parrots, the piping of bullfinches, and the trilling of German 

 canaries. On one occasion, when the parrots were screaming 

 in chorus, the cuckoo commenced calling vigorously, and, 

 much to the astonishment of its owner, it soon had the field 

 to itself, for the parrots by common consent seemed to stop 

 and listen. It continued to call on that occasion for nearly 

 ten minutes. 



The following extracts regarding the cuckoo in captivity 

 may be of some interest in connection with the bird now 

 exhibited. 



Morris's ' British Birds ' : — 



In several instances the cuckoo has been kept, great care being used, 

 throughout the winter — one for nearly two years — and it was then only 

 killed by accident. 



