112 THE CUCKOO. 



feeling about with its wings, to be certain that the 

 work was properly done, the young tyrant lay quietly 

 down in possession of the whole nest. 



Dr. Jenner afterwards made several experiments by 

 putting an egg at a time, into the nest with this young 

 Cuckoo, and always found, that like the little sparrow, 

 they were soon thrown on the ground. 



It might seem improbable from the round shape of 

 a young bird's back, that an egg could be made to lie 

 there, while the little animal crawled up the side of 

 the nest and cast it out. But our author says that na- 

 ture seems to have formed this bird with reference to 

 such an object, for the back is shaped differently from 

 that of other young birds, being wide just back of the 

 wings, and having a hoft?^ place there in which the 

 egg can be safely lodged. 



To us, the reason why the Cuckoo, in common with 

 other birds, does not build a nest and hatch her young, 

 is unknown. Perhaps it may be owing to the short 

 time which she stays in England, where Dr. Jenner 

 made his observations. In that country, this bird mi- 

 grates, like many others, with the seasons, but she 

 comes late and goes away early, staying only a short 

 time. The American Cuckoo is also a migratory bird, 

 but her stay is longer, aad she lays and hatches her 

 young like other birds. 



In the United States there are two species of the 

 Cuckoo, both of which differ from the Common, or 

 English one already described. These are the Yel- 

 low-billed and the Black-billed Cuckoo. Both these 

 are a little smaller than the Common one of Europe. 

 The yellow billed is of a yellowish brown colour on 



