July -..' 



hues. Remove the kingfisher to the forests of 

 Brazil, and one would say that it owed the lustrous 

 azure green of its plumage to the source from which 

 the great blue morpho derives its colour. There it 

 would seem at home ; here it appears incongruous 

 and out of place. If for no other reason than this, 

 however, the protection of such a bird, which breeds 

 throughout our islands, and is the only one of the 

 species we possess, should be a matter of common 

 solicitude. That its eggs should be listed at a few 

 pence apiece, and the bird itself sought as a recog- 

 nized object for the birdstuffer's art, will afford 

 matter for strange comment when a less barbarous 

 generation comes to reflect upon the idiosyncracies 

 of the present one. 



The cuckoo, which is frequently and readily 

 visible in our open meadows, disappeared during 

 July. The last bird I saw evidently had some 

 pressing duty^to perform before leaving our neigh- 

 bourhood. ^Jjyas out one bright morning early in 

 July, and saw a cuckoo fly to a hedgerow in a field 

 where I was at the time, and settle on the top of it. 

 The many birds of the swallow kind which were in 

 the air came down upon it in a moment, swooping 

 at it one after another in a continuous bombardment. 

 But the cuckoo, undeterred, proceeded awkwardly 

 along the hedgetop, now flying a foot or two, now 

 scrambling from one twig to another, and remained 

 a short time after each move. A pair of greenfinches 

 rose from the hedge, and joined the persecuting 



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