278 CUCKOO. 



comparatively few remain to breed in the countries bordering the 

 Mediterranean, or in Northern Africa ; while to the Canaries and 

 Madeira it is only an irregular visitor. In Asia its southern breed- 

 ing limits appear to be in the Himalayas ; but in winter it goes 

 down to the Philippines, Celebes, Burma and Ceylon : and in 

 Africa to Natal. Closely-allied species occur in both the above 

 continents. 



The female, which resorts to the same locality year after year, 

 deposits her egg on the ground, and then conveys it in her bill to the 

 nest of some bird destined to act as foster-parent. In this country 

 the latter is generally the Meadow-Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Hedge-Spar- 

 row or Reed-Warbler, and less frequently the Yellow- and Cirl-Bunt- 

 ings ; with many others, especially on the Continent. An interest- 

 ing list of theSe has been compiled by Mr. Bidwell (Tr. Norw. Soc. 

 iii. pp. 526-531). The egg, which averages about "85 by 75 in., 

 varies considerably, and, though usually of a greenish- or reddish- 

 grey with darker cloudings and spots, sometimes, but not always, 

 resembles the eggs of the foster-bird. For instance. Cuckoo's eggs 

 placed in the nest of the Orphean Warbler are chiefly distinguish- 

 able by their size {supra, p. 46) ; while eggs of a pale blue have been 

 found, though not invariably located in nests of the Hedge-Sparrow 

 or the Redstart. From 5-8 are produced by the female in the season ; 

 the same bird sometimes depositing two, and even three eggs in a 

 nest When the young Cuckoo is nine or ten days old, it ejects 

 the other nestlings by the aid of a cavity in its back which fills 

 up after the twelfth day ; and, where there are two Cuckoos in the 

 same nest the struggle for existence is sometimes severe. The food 

 consists of insects and their larva;, especially hairy caterpillars ; the 

 indigestible portions being thrown up in pellets. The female utters 

 a water-bubbling or whistling note. The superficial resemblance of 

 the "Cuckoo to a Hawk undoubtedly proves deceptive to other 

 birds ; also to ignorant peasants and gamekeepers, who frequently 

 assert that " Cuckoos turn to Hawks in winter." 



The adults of both sexes are greyish-ash above and on the throat, 

 with small white spots on the darker grey tail, and dusky bars on the 

 white under parts ; irides, legs and feet yellow. Length 12 in. ; wing 

 8-5 in. The female sometimes shows a slight rufous tinge on the 

 breast. The young are clove-brown on the upper parts ; there is a 

 white spot on the nape, and the irides are brown. Birds of both 

 sexes are sometimes found in spring of a rich chestnut-brown, like a 

 female Kestrel, and this form has been distinguished as C. hepatims. 



