220 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
raised to support the convenient suggestion that the native 
Cuckoo has been again confounded with the Nightjar, &c.” I 
am quite willing to concede that few ornithologists would suspect 
that there was any confusion with the Nightjar in this case, for 
the character and habits of the Cuckoo are correctly portrayed 
in the course of the narrative. Nevertheless none of the 
ornithologists with whom I have been able to discuss the matter 
believe in the incubation of the Cuckoo; they all consider the 
report to be an error of observation. 
As I have paid much attention to the habits of the Cuckoo, I 
was asked by several distinguished ornithologists, both verbally 
and by letter, to publish my opinion of Herr Miller’s article in a 
scientific Journal, and I now do so, although it is not pleasant for 
me to have to differ in opinion from so eminent an ornithologist. 
I take it for granted that the July number of the ‘ Zoologische 
Garten’ is before the reader, or that he at least knows the gist 
of Herr Miuller’s observations. I therefore confine myself to 
recapitulating the heads of the discussion as briefly as possible. 
The nest containing three eggs of different size, colour, and 
shape, was found on May 16th by Oberfodrster Miiller, in his 
official district of Hohenschied, in a shallow depression on the 
ground, which was clear of grass and brambles for thirty to 
thirty-five centimetres. A brownish female Cuckoo had just 
risen close to this place. Herr Miller drew back quickly, and it 
reappeared after a few minutes, and alighted not far from the 
nest. After waiting for three-quarters of an hour, the bird, 
which Herr Miller assumed was about to lay its egg with the 
three, was again found near the nest, and now for the first time 
he recognised the three very different-looking eggs as the eggs of 
the Cuckoo, which were extremely fragile and thin-shelled. 
Here I beg to observe that no one can notice the thinness of the 
shell in an unbroken Cuckoo’s egg, especially as, according to 
Brehm and others, Cuckoos’ eggs have not got thin shells. After 
making this observation Herr Miller quickly retired, and observed 
from a place of concealment that the Cuckoo flew to the nest 
again after six minutes, and remained constantly sitting on the 
eggs during the whole time of observation, which lasted over an 
hour and a half. 
On May 25th, after the Cuckoo had quitted the nest, a young 
Cuckoo, about six days old, was found in the nest, and not far 
