CUCULID^E. 87 



The bird now before us is a common summer 

 visitor, arriving in April, about the same time as 

 the Cuckoo, whence it has gained one of its provincial 

 names, Cuckoo's Mate. Another local name is Pea- 

 bird, which was probably given it from the fact that 

 about the time of its arrival young peas are springing. 



In 1865, a pair of these birds built their nest in a 

 hole in an apple-tree in an orchard near Burnham. 

 The female was one day captured by a boy while 

 sitting on her eggs, and was brought by him to Eton, 

 and sold to a gentleman who set it at liberty. The 

 boy who had caught it observed the bird on the apple- 

 tree the next morning, and as he had marked it, it 

 could not have been mistaken. What curious instinct 

 had enabled this bird to find its way back again, 

 after having been carried in the boy's pocket a dis- 

 tance of seven miles ? 



Family 



COMMON CUCKOO (Cuculus canorus}. Every one 

 is acquainted with the Cuckoo, if not by sight, by its 

 well-known note. ' Have you heard the Cuckoo 

 yet?' is as much a household expression as 'When 

 did you see the first swallow?' It arrives in April: 

 and the mean date of its advent appears to be the 

 loth of that month. 



I have observed as many as five of these birds on 

 the wing together in Windsor Park, in June and July, 

 when they appear to be more gregarious than at other 



