64 



KEARTONS' NATURE PICTURES 



SEDGE WAKBLKR8 NEST CONTAINING A 

 CUCKOO'S EGO. 



lay several eggs (some authorities put 

 the number at five), as a rule, only one 

 is deposited in the nest of each small 

 bird victimised ; sometimes two are 

 found, and occasionally as many as 

 three, and it is reasonable to suppose 

 in such cases they are deposited by 

 different birds. Several observers have 

 witnessed a Cuckoo lay her egg on the 

 ground, pick it up in her bill, and place 



it in the nest of the dupe that she 

 intends to rear her young. 



Sometimes the egg is deposited be- 

 fore the owner of the nest has com- 

 menced to lay, and at others after 

 she has begun to sit. This, however, 

 does not make any difference to the 

 young Cuckoo, for if it is hatched first 

 it throws the eggs out of the nest, and 

 if last, the young ones, and secures the 

 whole home to itself. If two young 

 Cuckoos should happen to be hatched 

 in the same nest, the stronger generally 

 succeeds in ejecting the weaker. 



All kinds of small birds, such as hedge 

 sparrows, robins, wagtails, meadow pipits, 

 tree pipits, sedge warblers, reed warblers, 

 and yellow-hammers are victimised. The 

 foster parents always appear to be proud 

 of their giant chick, and the tree pipit 

 shown in our plate worked particularly 

 hard to supply the ever-hungry young 

 chick with insects. After a young 

 Cuckoo has fledged it sits about on 

 branches and other objects, and fre- 

 quently stretches its wings, as seen in 

 the headpiece to this article, whilst 

 waiting for its foster parents to return 

 with more food. 



