232 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xiv. 



bubbling note much in the same way as a fowl often 

 cackles after laying. 



(w) The Cuckoo will deposit her egg in a nest any 

 day up till the time the fosterer has begun to incubate 

 her own eggs but probably seldom, if ever, before the 

 fosterer has laid her first egg. On rare occasions the 

 Cuckoo will make use of a nest containing eggs in the 

 early stages of incubation. 



(n) This Cuckoo does not place more than one of 

 her eggs in any one nest. 



(o) The Cuckoo removes probably in the majority 

 of cases one egg in exchange for her own. This Ctickoo 

 removed one and onh^ one at every deposition. 



(p) "When an egg or eggs disappear from a nest it 

 must not be assumed that they have been removed by a 

 Cuckoo. 



(q) This Cuckoo laid in the afternoon, not — as so 

 many birds do — in the early morning. This may or 

 may not be true of most Cuckoos. 



(r) Except of course for coition the female Cuckoo 

 acts entirely upon her own responsibility in all matters 

 relating to egg-deposition, and for these purposes separates 

 herself from her accompanying male or males. 



(s) The behaviour of her dupes varies according to 

 their individual temperament, from apparent welcome 

 through more or less unconcern to active annoyance and 

 resentment. 



