H2 ROUND THE YEAR 



effected. This disposition for turning out its com- 

 panions declines from the time it is two or three days 

 old. I have frequently seen a young Cuckoo, hatched 

 nine or ten days, remove a nestling that had been 

 placed in the nest with it, but suffer an egg, put there 

 at the same time to remain unmolested. The singu- 

 larity of its shape is well adapted to these purposes, 

 for, different from other newly hatched Birds, its back 

 from the scapulae downwards is very broad, with a 

 considerable depression in the middle. This depression 

 seems formed " by nature to give a more secure 

 lodgment to the egg or the young Bird, when the 

 Cuckoo is employed in removing either of them from 

 the nest. When it is about twelve days old, the 

 cavity is quite filled up, and then the back assumes 

 the shape of nestling birds in general. 



"July 9. A young Cuckoo, that had been hatched 

 by a Hedge-sparrow about four hours, was confined 

 in the nest in such a manner that it could not possibly 

 turn out the young Hedge-sparrows which were 

 hatched at the same time, though it was almost in- 

 cessantly making attempts to effect it. The conse- 

 quence was, the old Birds fed the whole alike, and 

 appeared in every respect to pay the same attention 

 to their own young as to the young Cuckoo, until the 

 1 3th, when the nest was unfortunately plundered. 



" The smallness of the Cuckoo's egg in proportion 

 to the size of the Bird is a circumstance that hitherto, 

 I believe, has escaped the notice of the ornithologist. ^ 

 So great is the disproportion, that the egg is in general 

 smaller than that of the House-sparrow, whereas the 

 difference in the size of the Birds is nearly as five to 



