THE CUCKOO AND HEll NEST. 181 



which, as he quaintly phrases it, " pumps without 

 water." Tlie like may be said of the cuckoo, whose 

 notes sound decidedly like the noise made b}^ a 

 suction pump that needs priming. Sometimes 

 they are low and soft, at other times quite loud 

 and startling. The notes seem to be produced far 

 down in the throat, which can be seen dilating and 

 contracting rapidly as the bird utters his call. 

 Although it is not a musical sound, I love to hear 

 it, and can heartily endorse the opening lines of 

 Wordsworth's ode, written as a tribute to our bird's 

 British cousin : 



" O blithe new-comer! I have heard, 



I hear thee and rejoice ; 

 O cuckoo ! shall I call thee bird, 



Or but a wandering voice? " 



As to this bird's habit of stealing her eggs into 

 the nests of other birds and allowing them to raise 

 her children for her, I will say nothing. Far be it 

 from me to speak of the objectionable traits of any 

 bird's character. 



