At Oatlands. 19 



one in a spot convenient for making continued obser- 

 vations on the 17th of June. The cuckoo's egg was 

 in the nest of a hedge-accentor, containing four of 

 its own eggs, and built in a bramble-bush near the 

 bottom of the sloping terrace at Oatlands. I tried 

 the cuckoo's egg and one of the hedge-accentor's in 

 water to ascertain if they were fresh or setting. The 

 former floated, denoting that it was setting ; the latter 

 sinking to the botton was, of course, fresh. 



" On the 25th of June I examined the nest. No 

 change had taken place. There were still the one 

 cuckoo's egg in the nest and the four accentors. 



" On Friday, the 27th June, I looked at the nest at 

 three o'clock in the afternoon and the cuckoo's egg 

 was hatched and one of the accentors. At twenty- 

 live minutes to six o'clock I looked at the nest again, 

 and another accentor's egg was hatched. 



" On Saturday morning, 28th June, I rose early 

 and went to the nest at twenty minutes to four 

 o'clock a.m. All was quiet and the old bird on the 

 nest. At two minutes past five o'clock I saw into the 

 nest. There were just as before the young cuckoo, 

 the two young accentors, and the two eggs. A few 

 minutes after five o'clock the young cuckoo attempted 

 to put an egg out of the nest by getting it on its back 

 in the most clumsy manner, but it did not succeed in 

 getting the egg high enough to roll it over the edge 

 of the nest. Immediately after this proceeding the 

 old hedge-accentor came on to the edge of the nest 

 and stooped down with its head into the nest and 

 took some white matter into its mouth (I think ex- 

 crement from the young birds) and swallowed it. 

 [No doubt whatever it was this ; for my canaries and 



