THE OOLOGY OF INDIAN PARASITIC CUCKOOS. 371 



The nestlings, as for as I know, cannot ba distinguished until they 

 assume the plumage of the young noted above. 



Cacomantis passerinus. (Vahl.) 

 The Indian Plaintive Cuckoo. 



Cuculus passerinus. Legge, B. of Ceylon, p. 235. 



Pohj phasia regia. Jerdon, B. of I., I, p. 333. 



Cacomantis passerinus. Ball, S. F., VII, p. 207; Cripps, ibid.,\>. 2G5; 

 Hume, Cat. No. 208 ; Vidal, S. F., IX, p. 55 ; Butler, ibid., p. 388 ; 

 Davison, ibid., X, p. 350; Barnes, B. of Bom., p. 127 ; Oates, Nests and 

 Eggs, 2nd Ed., II, p. 385 ; Shelly, Cat. of B. M., XIX, p. 277; Blan- 

 ford, Fauna of B. I., Ill, p. 216 ; Reid, Cat. Eggs B. M., Ill, p. 117. 



Ololygon passerinus. Butler, S. F., Ill, p. 461 ; Fairbank, ibid,, 

 IV, p. 255. 



To Miss Cockburn belongs the honour of establishing without doubt 

 the identity of the egg of this small cuckoo : her notes are given in ex- 

 tenso in Oates' Edit, of Nests and Eggs from which I quote parts. 



" On the 17th September, 1870, the nest of tho Common Wren- 

 Warbler (Prima inomata) was found, which had two small eggs and a 

 third which was mil oh larger, but of something the same colour, " 

 another similar nest of eggs taken a few hours later, and again a third 

 on the 22nd September, " the same day one of my servants seeing a 

 Plaintive Cuckoo sit very quietly on a hedge shot it. On examination 

 it was found to contain one egg ready to be laid, of the same colour and 

 spots as those found in the Common Wren- Warblers' nests. The egg- 

 was unfortunately broken, but the pieces were sufficient to identify 

 thoss found in the little Wren- Warblers' nests." After this Miss 

 Cockburn obtained more eggs and also a young Plaintive Cuckoo in 

 the nest of Prima inomata. 



Mr. Adams confirming Miss Cockburn's discoveries informed Hume 

 th-it he '' had small boys collecting nests for him, and on two occasions 

 nests of P. inomata were brought containing an egg somewhat like 

 that of P. inomata, but much larger : in fact, exactly like that described 

 and sent by Miss Cockburn." 



Thompson records it as laying in the nest of Pyctorhis sinensis (The 

 Yellow-eyed Babbler) and Lanius enjthronotus (The Rufous-backed 

 Shrike). This is curious, as the eggs of both these birds are much larger 

 than that of the cuckoo, and it is an almost invariable rule for cuckoos to 

 choose birds which lay eggs smaller than they do or, at least, as small. 



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