The Zoologist— May, 1874. 3969 



assistance afforded by the spotted fljcatcher. ' How,' Mr. Eaton inquires, 

 ' could a pair of hedge \Yarblers prevail upon a bird of a different species to 

 contribute to the support of their suppositious offspring?' Were the case 

 as the question necessarily supposes it to have been, it certainly would 

 present a great difficulty ; for the feathered tribes, though capable in some 

 instances of connecting vocal sounds with the ideas intended to be signified 

 by them, do not possess an artificial language ; but I am inclined to think 

 that the hedge warbler did not intentionally exercise any influence whatever 

 over tbeir coadjutor. Nestling cuckoos, it is well known, are extremely 

 clamorous when powerfully stimulated by hunger ; indeed their cry for food 

 is so incessantly repeated on such occasions that it frequently leads to their 

 discovery. Now this, I beheve, is the exciting cause, which, by calling 

 into operation the parental affections of birds so circumstanced as to be 

 influenced 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 redpoll, which brought it up with 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 basket 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." — P. 76. 



Anotlier observation, tending to show that small birds do some- 

 times object to the hen cuckoo's making their nest a nm'sery for 

 her child, is well worth quoting. 



" On the evening of the 24th of June, 1814, 1 saw a hen cuckoo alight in 

 a field of mowing grass, when a pair of titlarks attacked it with such fury 

 that they pulled several small feathers off it. Their loud cries and violent 

 gesticulations attracted the notice of several people at work near the spot, 

 who, by throwing stones at the cuckoo, drove it to some distance ; however, 

 it soon returned, and, though repeatedly annoyed, persevered till it ultimately 

 accomplished its purpose by laying in the nest of the larks." — P. 66. 



