206 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
These observations, though they may seem to be a repetition 
of the accounts given by Dr. Jenner, Montagu, Mrs. Blackburn, 
and other accurate observers, are nevertheless necessary in these 
days, for in the minds of some ornithologists it seems to be still 
an undecided question how the young Cuckoo gets the young of 
its foster-parents from the nest. I have before had an oppor- 
tunity of ascertaining the fact, and expressing my full belief in 
the accounts given by Dr. Jenner, Col. Montagu, and others, as 
stated in my ‘Catalogue of the Birds of Northumberland and 
Durham’ (p. 26), but till last summer I had not had a successful 
opportunity of watching the whole process so carefully as I was 
able to do on that occasion. 
Since these remarks were written my attention has been 
directed to the following quotation from Mr. Henry Seebohm’s 
‘History of British Birds’ (vol. ii. p. 883) :—‘It has been said, 
on what appears to be incontestable evidence, that the young 
Cuckoo, soon after it is hatched, ejects the young or eggs from 
the nest by hoisting them on its back; but one feels inclined to 
class these narratives with the equally well-authenticated stories of 
ghosts and other apparitions which abound.” 
The facts, observed with much care, and minutely narrated 
in this note, support the “incontestable evidence” given by 
Dr. Jenner, Montagu, and Mrs. Blackburn, so fully and con- 
clusively, that I am at a loss to understand how any one who 
has not personally investigated and observed this habit of the 
young Cuckoo could allow himself to express so strong an 
opinion as Mr. Seebohm has done in the italicised portion of the 
above quotation. 
There are still many points in the life-history of this 
interesting summer visitor which require to be worked out 
accurately. There are many questions regarding it which no 
ornithologist is able to answer satisfactorily, as for instance :— 
Is it the male or female Cuckoo that produces or utters the 
well-known familiar note, or both ? . 
Most of the Passeres moult before migrating. Does the 
young Cuckoo moult before migrating ? or does it moult in its 
winter quarters ? 
How does the old Cuckoo come to the knowledge of the time 
when it must place the egg in the nest it selects for that purpose ? 
For if the Cuckoo’s egg should not hatch for a few days after 
