i88 SKETCHES OF BIRD LIFE. 



hear our old friend without an indescribable sense of 

 pleasure, which is heightened by the old associations 

 which are recalled, and the recollection of the happy, 

 careless days when the note of " Cuckoo " first made 

 so great an impression. 



Since that time many a Cuckoo and Cuckoo's 

 egg has passed through our hands, and many 

 excellent opportunities have we enjoyed of studying 

 the habits of this curious bird. 



Considering the amount of attention which has 

 been bestowed upon the Cuckoo by naturalists in 

 every age down to the present, one might readily 

 suppose that every fact in connection with its life- 

 history was now pretty generally known. But such 

 is not the case. There are still certain points which 

 require investigation, and which, owing chiefly to the 

 vagrant habits of the bird, are not easily determined. 



How can it be ascertained with certainty, for 

 example, whether the same hen Cuckoo always lays 

 eggs of the same colour, or whether (admitting this 

 to be the case) she invariably lays in the nest of the 

 same species that is, in the nest of that species 

 whose eggs most nearly approximate in colour to 

 her own ? 





