General Notes on the Cuckoo. 25 



est : " In the year 1894 I took occasion to make 

 this bird an especial study, as I wished to find out 

 certain problems respecting its song. At my coun- 

 try place, Cleeve Prior, Worcestershire, I heard one 

 sing F and the D below, another F and D# below, 

 and I heard two singing simultaneously in a field 

 opposite my cottage ; while one sang F# and D, the 

 other was sounding G and D#. Later on I heard 

 one sound G and E below, then one which gave 

 only G repeated and another A and F below. The 

 notes we tested by what, I believe, is called a ' har- 

 monica.' These observations were all made about 

 Whitsuntide. A little later on, there was one bird 

 that made a curious glide, E and F, then to D below. 

 The two first notes were a ' scoop up ' like an ill- 

 trained vocalist's slur. Later on again, one sounded 

 G and E, and G and Eb. The Eb was perceptibly 

 flatter than the D# of the earlier bird, or, perhaps, 

 of the earlier song. Later on still, the birds got 

 to a repeated monotone." 



One word in conclusion : the Cuckoo is of great 

 benefit in the number of caterpillars it destroys, 

 especially the hairy ones. But does the feathered 

 lives which are sacrificed (generally insectivorous 



