140 THE CUCKOO 



the first. No sooner does the young bird see the day, than he pro- 

 ceeds to secure for himself the whole space of the nest and the sole 

 attention of his foster-parents, by insinuating himself under the 

 other young birds and any eggs which may remain unhatched, and 

 hurling them over the edge of the nest, where they are left to perish. 

 ' The singularity of its shape ', says Dr. Jenner, ' is well adapted for 

 these purposes ; for, different from other newly-hatched birds, its 

 back from the shoulders downwards is very broad, with a consider- 

 able depression in the middle. To the question which naturally 

 suggests itself, ' Why does the young Cuckoo thus monopolize the 

 nest and the attentions of its foster parents ? ' the solution is plain. 

 The newly-hatched bird must of necessity be less in size than the 

 egg from which it proceeded, but a full-grown Cuckoo exceeds the 

 dimensions of a whole brood of Pipits ; its growth therefore must 

 be rapid and cannot be maintained without a large supply of food. 

 But the old birds could not possibly with their utmost exertions feed 

 a brood of their own kind and satisfy the demands made by the 

 appetite of the voracious stranger as well. The latter consequently 

 saves them from this impossible task, and, by appropriating to his 

 single use the nourishment intended for a brood of four or five, not 

 only makes provision for his own well-being, but helps them out of 

 a difficulty. So assiduously is he taken care of that he soon becomes 

 a portly bird and nils his nest ; in about three weeks he is able to 

 fly, but for a period of four or five weeks more his foster-parents 

 continue to feed him. It is probable that the young Cuckoo actu- 

 ually exercises some fascination over other birds. There is a case 

 on record in which a pair of Meadow Pipits were seen to throw out 

 their own young ones to make room for the intruder. In another 

 instance, a young Cuckoo which had been taken from the nest and 

 was being reared by hand escaped from confinement. Having one 

 of its wings cut, it could not fly, but was found again, at the expira- 

 tion of a month, within a few fields of the house where it was reared, 

 and several little w r ild birds were in the act of feeding it. The 

 Bishop of Norwich x mentions two instances in which a young 

 Cuckoo in captivity was fed by a young Thrush which had only just 

 learnt to feed itself. 



In the days when omens were observed, it was considered a matter 

 of high import to hear the song of the Nightingale before that of 

 the Cuckoo. Thus Chaucer says : 



it was a commone tale 

 That it were gode to here the Nightingale, 

 Moche rathir 2 than the lewde * Cuckowe singe. 



So, when on a certain occasion he heard the Cuckoo first, and was 

 troubled in consequence, he represents the Nightingale as thus 

 addressing him : 



1 Familiar History of Birds. ■ Earlier. ■ Unskilful. 



