Cuckoos and Swallows. 1 5 



gigantic to the foster-parents. Its 

 appetite is gigantic too; and as 

 for its manners like the South Sea 

 Islanders, it "has none." It is a 

 pathetic thing to see the gentle little 

 anxious pair toiling hour by hour, 

 and day by day, to satisfy the great 

 gaping throat that always comes the 

 uppermost in their nest. 



And after a while the other little 

 throats, one by one, disappear. 

 The intruder has murdered Ihe 

 nestlings, and his ugly body a 

 mere heaving lump of sprouting 

 feathers is sprawling itself over 

 the nest. Even then the little 

 parents do not fail in their loving 

 tendance. They toil eagerly en, 

 and watch and brood and hover 

 round the creature that so shame- 

 fully abuses their kindness. 



We human beings speak glibly 

 enough about "instinct." But it 

 is a puzzling subject. Even the 

 sagest naturalists confess they know 



