The Cuckoos. 119 



most birds when their homes are disturbed by the prying 

 bird-lover. 



It may seem paradoxical that creatures so proverbially 

 lax and dilatory in their domestic arrangements as the 

 cuckoos, are endowed with maternal instincts as strong 

 as the birds more markedly regular in their family duties. 

 When circumstances give them occasion, however, the 

 mother cuckoos discover a regard for the welfare of their 

 offspring deeply rooted in their hearts, and at times they 

 seem to suffer intense anxiety when the safety of their 

 helpless younglings is at stake. Once in the middle of 

 September I chanced upon a young yellow-billed cuckoo 

 fluttering against the panes of a small window in an out- 

 house. He had entered through the door which stood 

 open within a yard of the window, but the latter was 

 higher than the door, and like most birds that unwittingly 

 enter a room, he sought escape at the highest opening. 

 When I captured the frightened straggler, though I 

 handled him as tenderly as his nervous actions would 

 admit, and sought by gentle treatment to quiet his ground- 

 less fears, he struggled desperately in my hand and 

 screamed piteously in a sharp, squealing tone. On taking 

 him into the open air, I noted that his plumage was yet 

 undeveloped, and I wondered at the tardy nidification of 

 the parents. 



The shrill cries of the youngster must have bent a pang 

 of distress through the hear^t of the mother, who was 

 lurking among the foliage of an adjacent tree, and she 

 glided into view in the lower shrubbery, determined to 

 make an effort to secure the release of her unfortunate 

 offspring. Low among the stems of the bushes she reeled, 

 fluttering her slender wings and vibrating her frail body 

 as though about to fall upon her side at every movement 

 she made. As the cries of the young bird became more 

 appealing, they touched a yet deeper chord of love in the 

 parent's heart. She glided yet nearer before turning 

 away, croaking her characteristic call and fluttering from 

 one low perch to another somewhat farther, to entice me 

 to pursue her and forsake the hapless object of her aftec^- 

 tions. It was indeed a touching appeal, and I regretted 

 that i had held the little unfortunate so long, though the 



