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Wild Life in Wales 



to one another, and quite irrespective of the time of year. 

 The old rhyme, which tells us that it is only with the arrival 

 of June that " she alters her tune," ought therefore to be 

 relegated to the limbo of time-honoured beliefs in which 

 poetic license has carried us beyond the limit of strict fact. 

 I had here, also, frequent opportunity of confirming my 

 previous observations that the female, at least occasionally, 

 cries " cuckoo," in addition to making use of her ordinary 

 Dabchick-like call. Nor do I think that the chuckling 

 notes frequently heard are confined to one sex only. One 

 female I saw being chased by two males, all, I think, chatter- 

 ing together, and after she had left them, and settled upon 

 a branch below me, she distinctly called " cuckoo " three 

 times, and followed it up, as she flew oflF again, with a loud 

 Dabchick rattle. It is many years ago since I first had an 

 almost similar experience, and I only specially allude to it 

 now as in the interval I have so often seen the fact doubted. 

 The name given to this bird, in nearly all languages, is 

 an adaptation of its universally welcomed note. In Wales 

 it is generally Cog-y-gog, or Cw-cw. Euphonically, the 

 latter agrees so closely with the early English rendering 

 that I am tempted to quote here (in the hope that it may 

 be new to some of my readers) two verses from what has 

 been referred to, on high authority, 1 as " the earliest secular 

 composition in parts, known to exist in any country." It is 

 from the Harleian Manuscripts, and dates from about 1 2 50, 

 one version running : 



" Sumer is icumen in, 

 Lhude sing cuccu ; 

 Groweth sed, and bloweth med, 2 

 And springth the wde 3 nu, 



Sing, cuccu ! 



Awe 4 bleteth after lomb, 

 Lhouth 5 after calve cu, 6 

 Bulluc sterteth, 7 buck verteth, 8 



Murie, sing cuccu ! " 



1 Mr Chappell, Ballad Literature, etc. 



2 Seed and Meadow. 3 Weed. 4 Ewe. 



5 Loweth. 6 Cow. 7 Gambols. 



8 Goeth to harbour in vert or fern. 



