380 BRITISH BIRDS. 
There is not a district inland or on the coast, mountam or plain, open 
country or forest, in which it may not often be seen in the course of the 
summer. In Norway I have seen it on the tundras above the limit of 
forest-growth, where it is only able to find a perching-place on the rocks 
or the stunted bushes and willows to be found in the sheltered valleys. On 
the moors in Yorkshire, or in the remotest parts of the Highlands, it may 
often be seen flitting from one stunted bush to another in a very Hawk- 
like manner, every now and then uttering its loud and well-known ery of 
cuckoo. Dixon has even met with this bird almost at the summit of the 
Cullin Hills, in Skye, where there was nothing for it to perch upon but the 
lichen-covered rocks. On the moors the Cuckoo is very fond of perching 
on rocks, and especially on the “dry walls,” but in cultivated districts is 
most frequently seen in trees and occasionally on the ground, where it 
progresses by a series of somewhat awkward jumps. Its flight is usually 
straight, unwavering, and moderately quick. It carries its long tail 
straight out; and its rapidly-beaten wings and short neck give it a very 
Sparrow-Hawk-like appearance. Sometimes it will turn and twist about 
in a very erratic manner, and often swoop close to the earth or into a tree- 
top. This resemblance to the Birds of Prey is-doubtless a protection to the 
weak and defeneeless Cuckoo from the birds it mimics so closely. At the 
same time, however, it causes the Cuckoo much annoyance from the various 
smaller birds that mob it incessantly and follow it about from place to 
place. Its resemblance to a Hawk is very often the cause of its death ; for 
the gamekeeper shoots it down at every opportunity, not only in the belief 
that he is killing an obnoxious creature, but also to preyent it from turning 
into a Hawk in winter ! 
The common note of the Cuckoo is almost too well known to need 
description ; but it appears to be confined to the male. The bird begins to 
utter its note a few days after its arrival, probably when the females have 
made their appearance. This note is clear, full, and powerful, resembling 
the syllables cuc-koo, and may often be heard for more than a mile. About 
the second week of June this note perceptibly alters its tone, as if the bird 
were labouring under great difficulty in uttering it. A syllable is also now 
added to it, and it resembles cuc-cuc-koo, uttered in rather a harsh tone. 
Its note in early summer is also sometimes prolonged into three syllables, 
but then it is cuc-koo-koo. The Cuckoo occasionally calls as he flies, 
generally when within a few yards of an intended perching-place; but 
more often the note is heard when the bird is at rest in some tree or on a 
wall. The male Cuckoo sometimes adds to his cry a few low notes, a sort 
of chatter or hoarse laugh, which is said to be also uttered by the female 
and appears to be their alarm-note. The call-note of the female in spring 
is a loud and rapid kwow-ow-ow-ow, intermediate between a whistle, a 
laugh, and a scream, reminding one of bubbling water. 
