2i8 The World-Evidence. 



him calling in the woods, and its behaviour is exactly 

 like that of those of the mainland. ''•'- 



Mr. Blyth himself may be quoted here — the more 

 that he can support his statement by the very weighty 

 opinion of Mr. Frith : 



" The koel's egg bears a very remarkable resem- 

 blance to that of the crow — only smaller. The speci- 

 men measures an inch-and-a-half in length, and its 

 colour is slightly bluish olive green, rather pale than 

 otherwise, with numerous reddish brown spots (much 

 as in some blackbirds' eggs), and an indistinct zone 

 of these near the large end." Mr. Frith has never 

 found more than one koel's egg in a nest, and has 

 only met with it in those of the two Indian crows." \ 



Mr. R. Thompson says of the Indian ciuiorus : 



" Lays in May and June. I found one or two birds 

 in the nests of pipits at iVlmorah some years ago. . . 

 In July the birds are well on the wing and betake 

 themselves to lofty trees." % 



And let it be noticed that the old cuckoos are still 

 there, and for weeks afterwards are there. 



IV. Nor can we disguise the fact that India pre- 

 sents evidence confirmatory on this head relating to 

 the Cuadus cauoriis in India. We are told that in 

 certain parts of India it breeds and remains there six 

 months. Dr. Scully says : 



"The common cuckoo is found in great numbers 

 in the Valley of Nepaul daring six months of the 

 year — from April to October. It frequents the cen- 

 tral wooded forests on the hillsides up to 6,000 feet, 



* Hume's Stray Feathers, i, p. 63. 



\ Asiatic Soc. Journal., vol , 1843, p. 295. 



X Hume's Nests and Eggs, ii, p. 3S0. 



