296 Mr. Blackwall on the 



powerfully stimulated by hunger ; indeed their cry for food is so inces- 

 santly repeated on such occasions, that it frequently leads to their dis- 

 covery. Now this I believe is the exciting cause w^hich, by calling into 

 operation the parental affections of birds so circumstanced as to be influ- 

 enced by it, impels them to succour the young of strangers, even when 

 they have not been placed under their immediate care ; and the most 

 probable reason which suggests itself why so many individuals of a kind 

 are sometimes associated together in the performance of the same task 

 is, that they are attracted by each other's calls. 

 The following anecdotes support these opinions. 

 A nestling Greenfinch was placed in the same cage with an adult Lesser 

 Redpole, which brought it up v/iili the utmost care. 



Several young Sparrows, whose nest had been destroyed, were put into 

 a small basket by a lady who pitied their helpless condition, and the bas- 

 ket was then conveyed to the grass-plot in front of her house. In this 

 situation they soon became clamorous for food, and a great variety of 

 birds hastened to the spot, many of which were observed to supply them 

 with nourishment, but unfortunately they soon perished, probably from 

 a deficiency of warmth, as they had not been hatched many days, and 

 were almost destitute of covering. 



" The sons of Mr. Lord, of Ramsey, Essex, took four young Ravens 

 " from a nest, and put them into a waggon in a cart-shed. About the 

 " same time they destroyed the young of a Magpie which had its nest 

 " near the cart-shed, and the old Magpies, hearing the young Ravens 

 " crying for food, carried them some, and constantly fed them till they 

 " were disposed of by the boys." Trans. Linn. Soc, Vol. XV, p. 10. 

 I have thus attempted to shew, contrary to the opinion of Montagu, 

 that the author of the article in the Gentleman's Magazine is perfectly 

 correct in asserting that young Cuckoos are occasionally fed by a more 

 than ordinary number of birds ; but that it is erroneous to suppose that 

 these numerous purveyors are invariably of the same species as the foster 

 parents of the Cuckoos, and that their proceedings are influenced en- 

 tirely by the latter. 



The belief that the Cuckoo sometimes constructs a nest, and brings up 

 its own young, has been maintained by several intelligent Naturalists, 

 and is at present entertained by that excellent Zoologist, Dr. Fleming, 



