CUCULUS CANORUS fil 



Tunisia, lying to the west of Gafsa, about the middle of April, but 

 the species probably never breeds in those arid regions, and perhaps 

 the most southern districts where it possibly does so are those 

 between Bou-Chebka and El-Oubira, where I have heard the species 

 calling lustily towards the end of April. According to some observers 

 the males arrive some days before the females, and this is not 

 improbable, as it is the case with some other species. 



Owing to its shyness and wariness the Cuckoo is more often 

 heard than seen, but its presence is unmistakably proclaimed by the 

 well-known note uttered by the male, and at times so unceasingly 

 repeated that it becomes monotonous. 



The female has a lower and different note, insignificant as com- 

 pared with that of the male. 



The Cuckoo's flight is bold and graceful, and resembles that of 

 some of the smaller Hawks, for which it is not unfrequeutly mistaken. 

 In Sicily, where the present species and the Red-footed Falcon often 

 arrive together on migration and frequent the same olive-groves 

 in search of insect food, this mistake is constantly made. The spring 

 passage of the Cuckoo in some parts of Sicily, notably near Palermo, 

 is very conspicuous, particularly on days when the "sirocco" or 

 south-east wind happens to be blowing. On such occasions large 

 numbers of the birds may be seen, and many are shot by the native 

 sportsmen when Quail shooting. 



The Cuckoo seems to feed almost entirely on insects and their 

 larvse, hairy caterpillars forming an important item in its diet. The 

 skin of the latter or any other indigestible matter eaten by the bird, 

 is cast up in pellets. 



Respecting the peculiar breeding habits of the Cuckoo quite a 

 mass of interesting information has been accumulated and recorded, 

 but a good deal no doubt still remains to be learnt on the subject. 

 The species appears to be entirely polygamous and non-nesting, and 

 places its eggs in the nests of other insectivorous birds, which act 

 as foster-parents and for obvious reasons are usually smaller and 

 weaker than itself. The female is stated to lay five or six eggs, 

 as a rule, in the course of the season, but some authorities assert 

 that she lays as many as twenty ; the egg is said to be first deposited 

 on the ground, and then carried by the bird in its bill to the nest 

 she may have selected for its reception and incubation. According 

 to interesting compilations made on the subject, the number of 



