mercifully. The male bird usually selects some suitable haunt, from which it 

 seldom strays far during the summer; it is rather a shy bird, and prefers to 

 keep out of sight among the trees. 



The food of the Cuckoo consists chiefly of beetles, moths, butterflies, 

 caterpillars and other insects, the indigestible portions of which, such as the 

 wing-covers of beetles and the hairs of caterpillars, are ejected from the mouth 

 in the form of pellets. 



The most interesting fact in the Cuckoo's history is that it does not rear 

 it own young, but deposits its eggs on the ground, carrying them in its bill 

 to the nests of other birds, where it leaves them to the care of the foster- 

 parents. Some discrimination is exercised in the choice of a foster-parent ; an 

 insectivorous bird is nearly always chosen, and in Great Britain the Pied 

 Wagtail and the Meadow-Pipit are the greatest favourites. Sometimes, owing 

 to the scarcity of insectivorous birds in the district, the Cuckoo is compelled 

 to deposit its egg in the nest of some Finch or Bunting : the young bird, 

 however, seems to thrive just as well. The Cuckoo's egg is remarkably small 

 in proportion to the size of the bird, and is usually placed, perhaps on 

 purpose, in the nest of some small bird, so that the nestling monopolises the 

 attention of the parent birds, and eventually ejects its foster brothers and 

 sisters from the nest. In only one case have I heard of a young Cuckoo 

 failing to destroy the entire brood. This came under my own notice. The 

 Cuckoo was reared in a Robin's nest built in some thick ivy on a low wall ; 

 all the Robins were ejected from the nest six days after the young Cuckoo 

 was hatched. One was still living, so I replaced him in the nest. On returning 

 next morning I found only the young Cuckoo in the nest, but the Robin had 

 taken up its position among the rootlets of the ivy beside the nest, from which 

 position the Cuckoo was unable to dislodge it. Both birds eventually flew. 



The eggs of the Cuckoo are subject to great variation in colouring. As 

 a rule, they somewhat resemble those eggs amongst which they have been 

 placed, but sometimes there is a marked difference, in which case it is probable 

 that the bird has been unable to find a suitable nest in which to place her egg, 

 and has had to be content with the first she came across. Five eggs are said 

 to be laid in the season (Bidwell, Zoologist, 1883), at intervals of seven or 

 eight days. The eggs of each bird probably vary but little in character and 

 colouring. They vary in length from ro4 to '85 inch, and in breadth from 

 75 to - 6o inch. 



54 



