158 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 



CUCKOO. * 



* 



THE note of the female cuckoo is so unlike that 

 of the male, which is familiar to every one, that per- 

 sons are sometimes with difficulty persuaded that it 

 proceeds from that bird. It is a kind of chattering 

 cry, consisting of a few notes uttered fast in succes- 

 sion, but remarkably clear and liquid. 



KING-FISHER.f 



KING-FISHERS are occasionally seen skimming 

 over the surface of a stream which runs along one 

 side of my garden. I am often warned of their ap- 

 proach by a shrill piercing note, which they utter 

 during their rapid flight, and which may be heard to 

 a great distance. I hear this note at all seasons of 

 the year. 



SW ALLOW. J 



THE arrival of this species at Swaffham Bui- 

 beck takes place on the 19th of April, according 

 to a mean of twenty years' observations. The 

 first broods are fledged in the middle of June, the 

 second early in August, and towards the middle 

 of the latter month these begin to collect into large 

 flocks, which increase in numbers as the season ad- 



* Cvculus canorus, Linn. f Alcedo ispida, Linn. 



J Hirundo rustica, Linn. 



