1/4 THE CUCKOO 



than a sixth of them resemble those of the 

 foster-parent. 



It was formerly held that the cuckoo con- 

 tented itself with depositing its egg, and took 

 no further part in the matter. It is now alleged 

 that, if the nest already contains eggs, she will 

 throw out some or all of them, and has even 

 been known to devour them. This latter state- 

 ment is denied by some, but Dresser quotes 

 Sachse as an eyewitness to the fact. The 

 period of incubation is the same as that of most 

 of the foster parents, and it is stated by some 

 writers that the cuckoo, drawn by an extra- 

 ordinary instinct, returns to the nest exactly at 

 the time of hatching, throwing out of the nest 

 all young birds and eggs other than her own 

 that she finds therein. Whether this is or is 

 not sometimes the case, it is certainly not uni- 

 versal ; for often, as all know, some of the brood 

 remain, the last act of the tragedy being carried 

 out by the young cuckoo itself. Growing with 

 extraordinary quickness, it is already, after 

 two days, much larger and stronger than its 

 unfortunate foster-brethren. With restless and 

 untiring energy it wriggles itself backward under 

 its neighbour until it has got it perched in a 

 peculiar shovel-like hollow in its back, and then, 

 with great exertion, raises it to the edge of the 



