394 CUCULIDJE. 



garden-gate, and was watched by me in course of construction. 

 I frequently observed male and female Coels darting in and out of 

 this shady tree, and during the heat of the day sitting in close 

 proximity to, and on terms of perfect friendship with, the rightful 

 occupants of the nest. On the 24th May the nest contained one 

 Crow's and one CoeTs egg ; on the 25th I was agreeably surprised at 

 finding that each species had laid a second egg ; but on the following 

 day, the 26th, 1 was amazed when my tree-climber from aloft re- 

 ported that both birds had again done their duty. On the 27th I 

 removed the contents of the nest, which contained the number 

 above stated. The Crow on this occasion was on her nest, and 

 the man who went up informed me that one of the small eggs 

 (meaning the CoeTs) was placed above the other six, forming as it 

 were the corner tier. 



44 1 would observe that the fact of C. culminatus laying in May 

 was as exceptionally late for that bird as it was early for the Coel. 

 I am consequently led to infer that these three Cool's eggs were 

 the produce of one bird. 



" It is quite clear that C. culminatus is easily imposed upon, and 

 seems to be alike unaware of and indifferent to the deception 

 practised on her ; for I never once observed the above pair attempt 

 to drive away the Coels from the tree on which they had built. O. 

 aplendensj on the other hand, is thoroughly alive to the trickery ; 

 and there is hardly a day, during the breeding-season, that Coels 

 may not be seen making their escape from trees, hotly and un- 

 relentingly pursued by one or more Crows of this species. 



" But the curious thing in this connection is that the male Coel 

 is just as often the object of attack as the female ; and I have 

 frequently observed both sexes flying out of the same tree 

 simultaneously, though in opposite directions." 



He concludes from the instance above given and eleven others 

 in which, between the 8th June and the 28th August, he found 

 one, two, or three eggs of young of Coels along with eggs or 

 young of Crows, "that the same Coel may lay a number of its eggs 

 in the same nest. 



" That she does not willingly eject the eggs of the foster-parent ; 

 and that when there is a deficiency in the normal number, it is 

 in all probability due to accident, owing to the CoeTs hurried 

 movements. 



" That G. culminatus is easily duped, while her cunning congener, 

 C. splendens, is fully aware of the deception. That when the 

 female Coel is about to intrude her egg, she is frequently accom- 

 panied by a male bird. 



" That it is a common occurrence to find several CoeTs eggs, 

 as well as young ones, in the same nest, the produce of one or 

 more parents. 



u The eggs of this Cuckoo have certainly a very corvine appear- 

 ance, and are well adapted to represent miniature eggs of the foster- 

 parent. All those in my collection are of one type, and may be 

 described as thickly blotched and spotted with reddish brown on 

 a dark-green ground, somewhat confluent at the obtuse end. They 



