CUCKOOS 67 



the two other cries. During the time that it 

 prevails it is for ever ringing through the air, so 

 that in the neighbourhood of Calcutta it is the 

 ko'il, far more than the hawk- cuckoo, that merits 

 the name of the " hot-weather-bird." To what 

 extent it is voluntarily purposive how far the 

 bird realises its utility in attracting crows remains 

 uncertain ; but to some extent, at all events, it is 

 evidently purely reflex in origin, as on moonlit 

 nights, and even sometimes on very clear nights 

 devoid of moonshine, it may be heard ringing out 

 at intervals all through the night. The second 

 cry is one of the trials of the dawn, and must have 

 been the cause of much cursing in houses sur- 

 rounded by trees supplying abundant food to 

 frugivorous birds. It consists of an outrageous 

 torrent of shouts, sounding "kuk kuu, ktiu, kuu, 

 kuu, kuu," repeated at brief intervals in tones loud 

 enough to rouse the Seven Sleepers, and most 

 exasperating from its occurrence just at the time, 

 when after a hot night, rendered ghastly by oppres- 

 sive air and sluggish pankhawalas, a certain degree 

 of coolness sets in to give some chance of a little 

 refreshing sleep. The third cry is a mere cataract 

 of shrill shrieks " heekaree karees " like those of 

 Angelica in The Rose and the Ring, when she 

 heard that Bulbo was about to be executed uttered 

 under stress of alarm and often to be heard during 

 the course of the laying season on occasions when 



