158 THE WOODLANDS. 



" Its dexterity in opening nuts and the stones of 

 fruits is curious ; it fixes the nut in a crack on the top 

 of a post, or on the bark of a tree, and placing itself 

 above it, head downwards, strikes with great force and 

 rapidity with its strong wedge-shaped bill on the edge 

 of the shell till it splits it open. When the food of 

 these birds is plentiful, they have a favourite crack for 

 unshelling the kernels, as sometimes a peck of broken 

 shells may be seen under this crack." 



" Cuckoo ! Cuckoo ! O ! welcome, welcome notes ! 

 Fields, woods, and waves rejoice 

 In that recovered voice, 

 As on the wind its fluty music floats." 



We all welcome the Cuckoo, because it assures us 

 that spring has commenced ; and the sound by which 

 its presence is announced is so familiar, and so un- 

 like any other, that the little child and the gray-haired 

 veteran recognise it alike and give it welcome. If 

 the note of the Cuckoo is observed, it will be found 

 to commence with the interval of a minor third, and 

 during the season proceed upwards until it reaches 

 the interval of a fifth. It is said never to attain a 

 minor sixth. " Have you heard the Cuckoo ? " is a 

 common inquiry in early spring. And this perhaps 

 leads to other inquiries, for there are superstitions 

 and omens associated even with the Cuckoo. It is 

 considered an unlucky omen if you have no money in 

 your pocket when you hear the Cuckoo for the first 

 time in a season. Those who hear the Cuckoo first 

 are supposed to be the most fortunate, and those who 

 hear the notes repeated the greatest number of times 

 on the first occasion in the year have the advantage. 



