THE COMMON CUCKOO. 327 



in the nest of some other bird. The variation in the colour of the Cuckoo's eggs is very great, 

 from a white speckled egg, like that of the Water Wagtail, or the dark brown mottled egg of a 

 Lark or Pipit, to the blue egg of the Hedge Sparrow ; while Mr. Dresser states that he has seen 

 even green eggs, and is of opinion that the same female will lay similarly coloured eggs. The re- 

 searches of ornithologists during recent years sufficiently prove that the female Cuckoo lays her egg 

 upon the ground, and then deposits it in the nest of a bird whose egg resembles the one she has just 

 laid ; hence it is probable that a hen Cuckoo killed with a broken egg in its mouth is the rightful 

 owner of the latter, and has not been sucking the eggs of some other bird, as the species is often 

 supposed to do. The writer has on many occasions found Cuckoos' eggs in the nest of the Water 

 Wagtail in Berkshire, the latter bird being frequently selected by the Cuckoo as her victim ; and he 

 can affirm that the eggs were in all cases similar to those of the Wagtail, but were a little larger in 

 size. In due time the young Cuckoo is hatched, the rightful owners of the nest ejected, and for weeks 

 the powers of the unhappy foster-parents are exercised to the utmost in feeding the gaping and 

 constantly-complaining occupant of their domain. Even when the young Cuckoo has outgrown the 

 nest, and is strong enough to fly about, he is still attended by his foster-parents. So great is the 

 instinct of the young Cuckoo to receive food from other birds, that a specimen in the Zoological 

 Gardens which managed to live through the winter and put on his full plumage in the following 

 spring, on the appearance of a Hedge Sparrow in the same aviary, fluttered down, and with drooping 

 wings and open bill solicited food from his small companion. 



The reason for the parasitic habits of the Cuckoo is hard to discover, but it appears probable that 

 the number of males greatly exceeds that of the females, and one observer has calculated that the 

 preponderance of the former sex over the latter is as much as twenty-five to one. This would seem to 

 he too large an estimate, but the proportion is probably about five males to one female. The latter 

 may not only be distinguished by its somewhat darker plumage, and a certain red colour on the chest 

 (which is more apparent when the bird is alive), but has a somewhat different note from that of her 

 mate, and calls cuckoo in a much sharper and less emphasised way than the male bird. Thus, if 

 the call of the female be represented by the syllables ctick-oo, the responsive utterance of the male 

 would be coo-coo. The female has also another call-note, which may be described as " whittling," and 

 is well expressed by Brehm as kwikwikwik, the sound of which is quite sufficient to set all the male 

 Cuckoos within hearing cuckoo-ing with might and main. Thus it happened to the writer, on a still, 

 quiet evening in spring a few yeai's ago, to be fishing beneath a large elm-tree on the river Thames, 

 when a female Cuckoo flew into the topmost boughs and uttered her peculiar note. From four 

 different points of the compass she was answered by male birds, who one and all directed their flight 

 toward the tree where she was perched. A tremendous scrimmage ensued, and apparently a fight took 

 place, but, being suddenly alarmed, they all took flight in different directions. It is certain that during 

 the breeding season the Cuckoo is a very passionate bird, and loves to call until, from sheer hoarseness, 

 he is obliged to stop ; sometimes his cry comes from the middle of a thickly- wooded tree, at other times 

 he will sit on a bare dead branch, or swing in the breeze from the top of a fir-tree. The female bird 

 is more retiring and keeps nearer the ground, so that it is possible to shoot her by hiding behind a 

 tree as she hunts after insects near one of their favourite haunts. The same plurality of males has 

 been observed by the author during the spring at Avington Park, in Hampshire ; and on one occasion, 

 when the female was shot, the note of the males was scarcely heard again, as if they had disappeared 

 from the vicinity. 



Brehm remarks :* " The note itself, and the manner in which it is emitted, are typical of the bird's 

 habits and character. The same abruptness, insatiability, eagerness, the same rage, are noticeable in 

 its whole conduct. The Cuckoo is a greedy feeder, and a discontented, ill-conditioned, passionate 

 fellow : in short, a decidedly unamiable bird. Its food consists entirely of insects and their larvae ; 

 young Cuckoos, alone, will sometimes eat berries ; Cockchafers, Fern-beetles, Moths, and Dragon-flies 

 are favourite morsels, and Caterpillars (especially the hairy species, which no other birds ever 

 devour) being preferred. The hairs of these creatures cling so close to the inner membranes of the 

 stomach that the use of the magnifying glass is necessary to convince one that they do not form part 

 and parcel of that organ. Its keen sight enables the Cuckoo to see Caterpillars from a great distance, 



* "Bird-life," p. 595. 



