the Economy of the Cuckoo. 1 79 



theory it contains. Before the part of his work treating of the 

 Cuckoo had reached me, I had already in some degree consi- 

 dered this article {vide 'Ibis/ 1862, pp. 384, 385), upon which 

 I now propose to make a few remarks. Mr. Wood also appears 

 to allude to it when he says that " the colour of the egg [in 

 Cuculus canorus] varies with the species in whose nest it is to be 

 placed." 



The translation of Dr. Baldamus's article is too long to be 

 inserted here, though it would be much more satisfactory if 

 English readers had the opportunity of studying it in their own 

 language. I must therefore content myself with giving one or 

 two of his leading observations, and a statement of his final 

 results. But now let me say that, though I am not at present 

 convinced by his arguments, tending as they do to a conclusion 

 quite contrary to my own experience, yet I cannot refrain from 

 expressing my admiration at his researches, which of themselves 

 bear witness to his reputation as an ornithologist. The theory 

 is as beautiful as it is new, and I only wish that fresh evidence 

 may be brought forward of a nature so strong as to make it an 

 acknowledged fact. Till that, however, is the case, I am com- 

 pelled to withhold my belief from it. After detailing his efforts 

 to discover if the Cuckoo is polygamous, the author gives, from 

 Thienemann, a list of the various species in the nests of which 

 its egg has been found, as follows : — 



Sylvia hortensis. 



cinerea. 



atricapilla? 



curruca. 



tithys. 



phoenicurus. 



rubecula. 



arundinacea. 



palustris. 



cariceti. 



locustella. 



Sylvia trochilus. 

 Accentor modularis. 

 Troglodytes vulgaris. 

 Saxicola i-ubetra. 

 Motacilla alba. 



flava. 



Anthus campestris. 



pratensis. 



Alauda arvensis. 

 Emberiza citrinella. 



To these Dr. Baldamus is enabled, from other sources of infor- 

 mation, to add : — 



