The Oackoo. 291 



* Delightful visitant ! with thee 



I hail the time of flowers, 

 When heav'n is fill'd with musio sweet, 

 Of birds among the bowers." 



LOGAN. 



THE well-known notes of this bird, in spite of their 

 monotony, are heard with pleasure in spring, as a sure 

 prognostic of fine weather. The Cuckoo is generally first 

 heard about the middle of April, and ceases towards the 

 end of June. This bird is so shy that he is seldom seen 

 when uttering his singular note. The female does not 

 build a nest, but lays her eggs in that of some other 

 bird. 



The Cuckoo is somewhat less than the magpie, his 

 length being about twelve inches from the tip of the bill 

 to the end of the tail. He is remarkable for his round 

 prominent nostrils ; the lower part of the body is of a 

 yellowish colour, with black transverse lines on the 

 throat and across the breast ; the head and upper part of 

 the body and wings are beautifully marked with black and 

 tawny stripes, and on the top of the head there are a few 

 white spots. The tail is long, and on the exterior part, 

 or edges of the feathers, there are several white marks ; 

 the ground colour of the body is a sort of grey. The legs 

 are short, and covered with feathers, and the feet are com- 

 posed of four toes, two before and two behind. 



We are indebted to the observations of Dr. Jenner for 

 the following account of the habits and economy of this 

 singular bird in the disposal of its eggs. He states that, 

 during the time the hedge-sparrow is laying her eggs, 

 which generally occupies four or five days, the Cuckoo 

 contrives to deposit her egg among the rest, leaving the 

 future care of it entirely to the hedge-sparrow. This 

 intrusion often occasions some disorder; for the old 

 hedge-sparrow, at intervals while she is sitting, not only 

 throws out some of her own eggs but sometimes injures 

 them in such a way that they become addled, so that it 

 frequently happens that not more than two or three of 

 the parent bird's eggs are hatched : but, what is very 

 remarkable, it has never been observed that she has 

 either thrown out or injured the egg of the Cuckoo, 



