58 APRIL 



sultana raisins, meat, lettuce and other vegetables, 

 young frogs, and hard-boiled eggs. 



Its first moulting was in February, 1897, anc ^ one 

 evening in the following April at about nine o'clock, 

 when sitting on the fender and enjoying the heat of 

 the fire, it began its cuckoo song. There had been 

 no opportunity of learning from other cuckoos, for 

 this one had been reared among parrots, canaries, 



THE CUCKOO 



and bullfinches. In July it ceased singing, and the 

 migratory instinct was evidently strong, for it 

 became exceedingly restless. After a time, how- 

 ever, it quieted down, moulted once more in 

 February, and again in April began to sing, though 

 this time less clearly than in the previous year. It 

 was evidently in failing health, but up to the last its 

 eye continued bright and its appetite unimpaired. 

 It died in the autumn of 1898. 



