574. VOICE AND FOOD OF THE CUCKOO. 



of a young lad. This peculiarity was noticed long ago by observant persons, and many 

 are the country rhymes which bear allusion to the voice and the sojourn of the Cuckoo. 

 For example : — 



" In April 

 Come he will. 

 la May 



He sings all day. 

 In June 



He alters his tune. 

 In July 



He prepares to fly. 

 In August 

 Go he must." 



About Derbyshire and the north of England, this rhyme is slightly varied, and is given 

 as follows : — 



" In April Cuckoo sings her lay ; 

 In May she sings both night and day 

 In Jiuie she loses her sweet strain ; 

 In July she is off again." 



An old WTiter, John Haywood, who "flourished," according to Mangnall, about 1580, has 

 the following quaint and very graphic rhyme upon the voice of the Cuckoo at different 

 periods of the year : — 



" In April the Coocoo can sing her song by rote. 

 In June oft time she cannot ping a note. 

 At first, koo, koo ; koo, koo ; sings till can she do 

 At last, kooke, kooke, kooke ; six kookes to one koo." 



The voice of the female bird is quite distinct from that of the male, and has been 

 compared to the sound made by pouring water out of a narrow-necked bottle, and to 

 the quacking clutter of the dabchick. 



Sometimes the Cuckoo has been known to sing at night, having been seen to perch in 

 a tree and then to commence its song. Many such instances are recorded, as also of the 

 Cuckoo's song heard very early in the season ; but in all such instances where the bird 

 was not actually seen, great caution must be used in accepting evidence. For the note of 

 the Cuckoo is so peculiar, and so easily imitated, that boys are often in the habit of 

 hiding in the copses and behind hedges for the pm-pose of deluding people into the idea 

 that the Cuckoo has arrived. There have even been instances where such delinquents 

 have confessed their bad practices when they attained to mature years, and wrote on 

 natural history themselves. 



When the stomach of the Cuckoo is opened, it is found to be lined with brown hairs, 

 which on investigation with the microscope have been found to be those of the long-haired 

 caterpillars, such as the " woolly-bear," i.e. the larva of the tiger-moth (Arctia caja), on 

 which the Cuckoo loves to feed. 



In captivity it feeds on many substances, always preferring caterpillars and raw beef 

 chopped fine. It also likes worms, hard-boiled eggs, flies, wasp-grubs, and similar food. 

 According to some persons, the young Cuckoo is a very easy bird to rear ; while according 

 to others it gives the greatest trouble. One writer goes so far as to say that he would 

 sooner rear a baby single-handed than a Cuckoo. However this may be, the first winter 

 is always a trying season to the young bird, and there are very few which get well 

 through it. 



In general appearance the Cuckoo bears some resemblance to a bird of prey, but it has 

 little of the predaceous natui-e. It is rather curious that small birds have a tendency to 

 treat the Cuckoo much as they treat the hawks and owls, following it wherever it Hies iu 

 the open country, and attending it through the air. 



The colour of the plumage is bluish grey above, with the exception of the wings and 

 tail, which are black, and barred with white on the exterior feathers. The chin, neck, and 

 breast are ashen grey, and the abdomen and under wing-coverts are white, barred with 

 slaty grey. 



