THE CUCKOO HABIT 165 



Perhaps the original cuckoo thought to steal a 

 march on some other bird by appropriating the nest 

 that had been built, with the intention of rearing her 

 own offspring therein. Then the rightful owner drove 

 her off and hatched the cuckoo's egg as well as her 

 own, not to her own chagrin, but that of the cuckoo. 

 Those fond of strange speculations may consider the 

 alternative theory namely, that some other bird stole 

 the nest of the cuckoo, who has been trying to get 

 her own back ever since. We cannot ourselves enter- 

 tain the suggestion. The cuckoo must have been the 

 prime offender against avine morality. Is there any 

 excuse for her ? We find to-day that not only is the 

 anatomy of her breast little fitted to the duties of 

 incubation, but she is almost unique among English 

 birds in the shape of her feet, two claws of which 

 turn backward instead of the usual one. That may 

 be an impediment to the craft of nest-building, though 

 it must be remembered that the parrots, and our own 

 woodpeckers, with similar feet make very good use of 

 them. The zygodactylic feet may be an inheritance 

 from more honest days ; they may be the result of 

 the young cuckoo's straining for full possession of 

 the nest, and useful tools for that diabolic proceeding ; 

 they may be only intended as a means for making 

 the gamekeeper look thoroughly foolish when he has 

 shot a cuckoo in mistake for a sparrow-hawk. 



