468 Observations on the Cuckoo. 
in what degree it is applicable to foreign spe- 
cies, of which Dr. Latham, in his General 
History of Birds, now publishing, enume- 
rates about 87, besides varieties, is an inter- 
esting inquiry, which our present very im- 
perfect knowledge of their habits and eco- 
nomy will not permit us to answer. Dr. 
Latham, indeed, does not particularize more 
than five or six species belonging te this ex- 
tensive genus, that lay in the nests of other 
birds, nor more than twice this number that 
bring up their own young, and of the man- 
ners and propensities of the rest we are al- 
most entirely ignorant. 
It is reported that the cowpen oriole, a 
bird perfectly distinct from the cuckoo, has 
many of its most remarkable peculiarities, 
intrusting the care of its offspring to stran- 
gers, and laying only one egg in the same 
nest. Dr. Darwin, iv his Zoonomia, main- 
tains that the propensities of the cuckoo to 
lay in the nests of other birds, and to mi- 
grate, are not instinctive; and goes so far as 
to reflect upon the reasoning powers of those 
who entertain a contrary opinion. But the 
Doctor, though a profound scholar, and a 
- close observer of nature, was not infallible; and 
it would be easy to point out numerous er- 
rorsi nto which he has fallen, in his very in- 
