280 CORRESPONDENCE. 



Comsijonbcntc. 



DuKATioN OF Life of Cage Birds. — My canaiy died to-day, aged 15 

 years and 2 months. The one I had before it hved for 16 years. Are not 

 these ages considerably beyond the average '? — J. B., Leicester, Aug. '24th. 



Woodcock. — On the 5th of September I saw a Woodcock put up 

 within half a mile of this place, by the side of a large pool of water. 

 When flying off, it appeared to be at a loss to know where to go, and 

 evidently seemed to feel like a fish out of water. I am not aware that 

 this bird is usually seen iu England before October ; possibly some of 

 your correspondents can give some infoi'matiou on this point. — W. S. 

 Gresley, Overseile, Ashby-de-la-Zouch. 



Cuckoo. — In the August number of the " Midland Naturalist " I read 

 that Mr. J. E. Thompson, of Tamworth, has " obtained a Cuckoo's egg in 

 the South of England as early as March 3rd." Will that gentleman 

 kindly inform your readers iu what year that occurred, also by whom 

 taken and authenticated ? I have never yet heard of a i-eally trustworthy 

 record of the appearance of the Cuckoo in any part of England before 

 the 6th of April ; and, personally, although I have noted the arrivals of 

 migrants for nearly twenty years in the South of England, I have no 

 record of the arrival of the Cuckoo before the 12th of April ; neither have 

 I known during the whole period of my observations the times of appear- 

 ance to vary more than five or six days. — Henry Reeks, Manor House, 

 Thruxton, near Andover. [Mr. Thompson repHes : — " The Cuckoo's egg 

 referred to ininy letter (see ante p. 227) was sent me as a curiosity by the 

 father of one of my pupils named Boult, the son ha\ing taken it from a 

 nest in a hedge, Couch Lane, Winkfield, Windsor, 1818, not a particularly 

 open year, but which had some veiy cold weather even late in April 

 when there were sleet and snow storms. The shrubs which had a few 

 hours before given an appearance of summer were enveloped in snow. I 

 am enabled to fix the date with much exactitude by cii'cumstances which 

 I need not mention. Mr. Boult, who was then about sixty years of age, 

 sent me the egg to prove that the bird in some cases arrives very early 

 among us though seldom heard till mid-April, and the circumstance was 

 a great surprise to himself." — Eds. M. N.J 



The Cuckoo's Note. — It is with the greatest pleasure I hail the arrival 

 of the "Midland Naturalist" from month to mouth, and feel deeply 

 interested in its general subject matter, its meteorological notes, its 

 gleanings, correspondence, &c., and never peruse it without deriving 

 profit ; and my idea is that encouragement should be given to those who 

 ask for information through its interesting columns, as this may lead 

 many young Naturalists to pursue a study which a rough style of answer 

 might cause them to forsake. Hence my having rephed to the enquiry of 

 " N." in your July number, imagining some might not deign to answer a 

 question apparently so unimportant ; but the number of replies has 

 convinced me that a hard and fast lino of action is not common to the 

 Cuckoo, (as your correspondents' experience in different parts of the 

 country help to show,) and that its cry somewhat varies under diverse 

 circumstances. I should like, however, to state the opportunity afforded 

 me in times past of observing the bird ; not with any view of gainsaying 

 the statements of your correspondents, Mr. E. J. Lowe and the Rev. A. S. 

 Male, kindly f ui-nished in your September number, but with a view to a more 

 accurate knowledge being gained by further observation in various locali- 

 ties. In the summer of IBlo I left Loudon, my birthplace, for a sweetly 

 retired village, four miles west of Windsor, and on the edge of the forest, 



