

THE CUCKOO. 193 



which one egg, and sometimes more, differed entirely 

 from the rest ? And yet in each instance these were 

 laid, as we may presume, not only by the same hen, 

 but by the same hen under the same conditions, which 

 can be seldom, if ever, the case with a Cuckoo. 



Looking to the many instances in which eggs 

 laid by the same bird, in the same nest, and under 

 the same circumstances, vary inter se, it is not 

 reasonable to suppose that eggs of the same Cuckoo 

 deposited in different nests, under different circum- 

 stances, and, presumably, different conditions of the 

 ovary, would resemble each other. On the contrary, 

 there is reason to expect they would be dissimilar. 

 Further, we can confirm the statement of Mr. 

 Dawson Rowley, who says, " I have found two 

 types of Cuckoo's eggs, laid, as I am nearly sure, by 

 the same bird" (Ibis, 1865, p. 183). 



It is undeniable that strong impressions upon 

 the sense of sight, affecting the parent during con- 

 ception or an early stage of pregnancy, may and do 

 influence the formation of the embryo, and it has 

 consequently been asserted that the sight of the 

 eggs lying in the nest has such an influence on the 

 hen Cuckoo, that her egg, which is ready to be laid, 



