FIRST APPEARANCES OF BIRDS, INSECTS, ETC. 163 



CUCULIDAE. 



(53) Cuculus canorus. Cuckoo. 

 Arrival. 



Apr. 21 



Apr. 28 



Apr. 29 



Apr. 30 



May 5 

 May 28 



Nesting. 

 July 10 



Departure. 

 July 23 



Two seen and one heard at Canford. 



Six or seven heard between Broadstone and 



Poole. 



Two seen at lytchett Beacon, Poole. 



Many at Canford. 



Fifteen or twenty seen or heard at Badbury, 



(E.H.C. and W.P.C.) 



Several between Poole and Wareham. (F.G.P.) 



One unusually vociferous bird at Badbury. 



(E.H.C.) 



One on Broadstone Golf Links. This may have 

 been the bird seen by Mr. G. Parry in a nest on 

 the Links earlier in the year, and not reported 

 before to us. Unfortunately Mr. Parry did 

 not note the foster parents. 



At Badbury Rings, E.H.C. spent a long time 

 watching a young bird eating the larvae of 

 Zygaena filipendulae (Six-spot Bur net Moth). 

 The number of these larvae this bird disposed 

 of in an hour was incredible ; he ate one every 

 two minutes, and was still feeding about four 

 o'clock. He watched for them in the grass and 

 pounced on them when they moved, took them 

 crossways in his bill, then with a jerk of the 

 head got them head or tail first, and down they 

 went. E.H.C. got very close indeed, and in 

 one or two instances he saw the prey the bird 

 seized first, E.H.C. cannot actually say thah 



