THE CUCKOO. 



To seek thee did I often rove 

 Through woods and on the green 



And thou wert still a hope, a love- 

 Still long'd for, never seen. 



And I can listen to thee yet, 



Can lie upon the plain, 

 And listen, till I do beget 



That golden time again." 



81 



The cuckoo visits this country about the middle of 

 April, and tarries with us about four months. Its course 

 has been marked in the following couplets : — 



" In April, 

 Come he will. 



In May, 



He sings all day. 



In June, 



He alters his tune. 



In July, 



He prepares to fly. 



In August, 

 Go he must." 



The egg- of the cuckoo is laid in the nests of other 

 birds, many of which might easily be mentioned ; but it 

 appears to prefer those of the meadow pipit, the hedge 

 warbler, and the pied wagtail. Should a second egg be 

 found in a nest, it is thought to be laid by a second 

 cuckoo. But, whatever may be the nest in which the 



G 



