NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS. 



THE CUCKOO. 



" Not the whole warbling grove in concert heard 

 When sunshine follows shower the breast can thrill 

 Like the first summons, Cuckoo, 

 of thy bill." 



Wordsworth. 



HE soft, far reach- 

 ing notes of the 

 Cuckoo are loved by 

 young and old alike, 

 because they tell a 

 tale of hope and 

 gladness, of warm 

 sunshine and sweet 

 spring flowers. It 

 has been regarded as 

 " the darling of the 

 year " all down the ages since the oldest 

 known English lyric, in which it figures, 

 was penned : 



" Sumer is icumen in, 

 Loude sing Cuckoo." 



The Cuckoo is a strange, mysterious 

 bird whose history is not yet fully known 

 in spite of all the careful attention it 



