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DICTIONARY OF NAMES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 
There exist many rhyming allusions to the Cuckoo’s 
time of arrival in country-side lore, as for instance :— 
When the cuckoo comes to the bare thorn, 
Sell your cow and buy your corn: 
But if she sits on a green bough, 
Sell your corn and buy a cow. 
Another rendering is :— 
When the cuckoo comes to the bare thorn, 
Sell your cow and buy your corn: 
But when she comes to the full bit, 
Sell your corn and buy your sheep. 
the inference being that a late spring is bad for cattle and 
an early spring bad for corn. 
Another saying akin to this is recorded in “ Notes 
and Queries ” (ser. 11, 5, p. 450) :— 
Cuckoo oats and woodcock hay 
Make a farmer run away. 
the meaning being that if the spring is so backward that 
oats cannot be sown until the Cuckoo is heard, or the 
autumn so wet that the aftermath cannot be gathered until 
the Woodcock comes, the farmer is sure to suffer. 
In some parts, April 14th is called “ Cuckoo Day,” 
being thought that the Cuckoo’s song is first heard about 
this day. The date, however, varies in different parts of 
the country, and according to Dyer it is believed at Tenbury 
in Worcestershire, that it is never heard till Tenbury Fair- 
day (April 20th), or after Pershore Fair-day (June 26th). 
In Wales it is considered unlucky to hear the Cuckoo before 
the 6th of April, but “ you will have prosperity for the whole 
of the year if you first hear it on the 28th.” 
There are several variants of the fcllowing allusion to 
the time of the familar cuckoo-song, which is, of course, heard 
at its best during the breeding-period :— 
In April the cuckoo shows his bill ; 
In May he sings all night and day; 
In June he changes his tune ; 
In July away will he fly ; 
In August go he must. 
Another version of this last that I have heard is as follows :—- 
In flowery May he singeth all the day 
In leafy June he altereth his tune ; 
in hot July away he'll fly ; 
In August go he must. 
Mr. Dyer says that among the Gloucestershire peasants 
it is :-— 
The Cuckoo comes in April, 
Sings a song in May; 
Then in June another tune, 
And then she flies away. 
