THE PIE KIND. 211 



form ; and, from an association of ideas, seldom 

 occurs to the memory without reminding us of 

 the sweets of summer. Custom too has affixed a 

 more ludicrous association to this note ; which, 

 however, we that are bachelors need be in no pain 

 about. Tiiis reproach seems to arise from this 

 bird's making use of the bed or nest of another 

 to deposit its own brood in. 



However this may be, nothing is more certain 

 than that the female makes no nest of her own. 

 She repairs for that purpose to the nest of some 

 other bird, generally the water-wagtail or the 

 hedge-sparrow, and having devoured the eggs of 

 the owner, lays her own in their place. She 

 usually lays but one, which is speckled, and of 

 the size of a blackbird's. This the fond foolish 

 bird hatches with great assiduity, and when ex- 

 cluded finds no difference in the great ill-look- 

 ing changeling from her own. To supply this 

 voracious creature, the credulous nurse toils with 

 unusual labour, no way sensible that she is feed- 

 ing up an enemy to her race, and one of the 

 most destructive robbers of her future progeny. 



It was once doubted whether these birds were 

 carnivorous ; but Reaumur was at the pains of 

 breeding up several, and found that they would 

 not feed upon bread and corn, but flesh and in- 

 sects were their favourite nourishment. He found 

 it a very difficult task to teach them to peck ; for 

 he was obliged to feed them for a full month 

 after they were grown as big as the mother. In- 

 sects, however, seemed to be their peculiar food 

 when young ; for they devoured flesh by a kind 



