390 CUCULID^. 



of flight and general appearance give it an undoubted re- 

 semblance.* Towards the middle or end of June its cry 

 is no longer the " plain song " that was heard on its arrival; 

 it becomes rather hoarser in tone, and its first syllable or 

 note is doubled. Soon after it is no longer heard at all, 

 and by the middle of July an old Cuckow is seldom to be 

 found in these islands, though a stray example, or even, 

 but very rarely, two or three birds in company, may occasion- 

 ally be seen for a month later. 



So far about as much of the story of the Cuckow' s life as 

 falls within the experience of most people in this country 

 has been told, but it relates mainly to the birds of one sex 

 only. The females have been living for most of this time 

 in a way even still more secluded. They are less numerous, 

 as has been already said, than the males to begin with. 

 They have no loud and musical note to attract attention t — 

 one that they utter has been compared to the cry of the 

 Dabchick, another (or perhaps the same) sounds to the 

 writer not unlike the call-note of the Whimbrel. The 

 roaming habit and flight in the open, which soon after their 

 arrival rendered them conspicuous, has almost entirely 

 ceased, and when seen, which is comparatively seldom, they 

 are ordinarily lurking under some kind of shelter. Their 

 chief business may be safely presumed to be the hunt- 

 ing for birds' nests into which they may introduce their 

 own eggs. From what has gone before it may be gathered 

 that, in connection with this subject, a good deal remains to 

 be determined, most of which, however probable, is still to 



* Dr. A. E. Brehm (Ornith. Centralblatt, 1877, p. 132) denies, however, 

 that they take it for a Hawk, asserting that their behaviour towards a Cuckow 

 is very different. The old fable of the Cuckow turning into a Hawk in winter- 

 time would seem to have had its origin rather in the appearance of the one 

 coinciding with the disappearance of the other, than in their outward likeness, 

 though this indeed leads many people in these days, who ought to know better, 

 into considering the Cuckow a " Birdof-prey." 



+ Some observers have expressed their belief that the female sings, and the 

 evidence of Blyth (Mag. N. H. viii. p. 329) has been quoted as aflFording 

 an "unquestionable instance" of the fact. Reference to the statement will 

 shew that it does not rest on his own observation, and he with others may be 

 safely deemed to have been misled in this matter. 



