By the Riverside 



is ! but the birds keep well out of sight as a rule, 

 and many people have curious notions of its 

 appearance. A country lad once brought me a 

 Woodpigeon, saying that he had shot a Cuckoo, 

 though in justice to him it should be said that 

 neither bird is common in his particular district. 

 The Cuckoo bears a striking resemblance to the 

 Sparrow Hawk, both in colouring and in flight, 

 and this, if sometimes an advantage, doubtless 

 earns him many a mobbing. Above it is a uniform 

 leaden grey, while the underparts are pale ash grey, 

 giving place to white on the lower breast. The 

 whole under surface is marked with wavy, trans- 

 verse bars of black. The young birds differ 

 entirely in colouring from the old, being dark 

 brown above, barred with rufous ; buffy white, 

 barred with blackish brown beneath. The old 

 Cuckoos take their leave of us in July, but the 

 young are not then sufficiently matured to make 

 the journey and stay on till the end of August 

 or even till mid-September, though how they 

 find their way to their winter quarters without 

 the assistance of the old ones is a mystery, but 

 it is one that is shared by several other birds. 



Among the various species victimised by the 

 Cuckoo are the Meadow and Tree Pipits, the Pied 

 and Yellow Wagtails, the Skylark, the Hedge 

 Sparrow and Robin, the Sedge and even the Reed 

 Warbler. This last seems a remarkable choice, 

 but it is nevertheless a frequent one. The nest, 



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