THE CUCKOO 



its own folk have ceased from singing by the 

 time it is out of the nest. A good deal has 

 been written about the way in which the 

 note varies, chiefly in the direction of greater 

 harshness and a more staccato and less 

 sustained note, towards the end of the 

 cuckoo's stay. According to the rustic rhyme, 

 it changes its tune in June, which is probably 

 poetic licence rather than the fruits of actual 

 observation. It is, however, commonly agreed 

 that the cuckoo is less often heard as the 

 time of its departure draws near, and the 

 easiest explanation of its silence, once the 

 breeding season is ended, is that the note, 

 being the love-call of a polygamous bird, is 

 no longer needed. 



In Australia the female cuckoo is hand- 

 somely barred with white, whereas the male 

 is uniformly black ; but with our bird it is 

 exceedingly difficult to distinguish one sex 

 from the other on the wing, and, were it not 

 for occasional evidence of females having been 

 shot when actually calling, we might still 

 believe that it is the male only that makes 

 this sound. The note is joyous only in the 

 poet's fancy, just as he has also 

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