Vol. xlii.] 102 



occipitalis in amonost the roois of a fallen tree, in which it 

 was only by a struggle and the loss of" many neck-feathers 

 that the Cuckoo succeeded in getting even her head to the 

 nest. I have twice taken eggs (see Box No. 13) from the 

 nests of Abrornis in which not only was it impossible for 

 the Cuckoo to insert more than her head, but from which 

 the young Cuckoo, when hatched, could never have made an 

 exit. Captain Bates and Mr. Livesay in Kashmir took an 

 egg of Cncuhis poliocephalus from the nest of a Warbler 

 built in a deserted Pigmy Woodpecker's hole. In this the 

 Cuckoo could not even insert her head, but had dropped her 

 own egg down the slope inside, cracking one of the eggs of 

 the Warbler in so doing. 



The general impression received from Mr. Chance's beauti- 

 ful film of our English Cuckoo seems to be that this particular 

 (Cuckoo laid her eggs directly into the Pipit's nest. Further 

 careful consideration of these pictures and of Mr. Chance's 

 recorded observations make me think this impression is 

 erroneous. In the first place, the Cuckoo is never more 

 than a few seconds on the nest and, from what we know of 

 other birds, oviposition takes much longer than this ; again, 

 on one occasion the Cuckoo was frightened away for half an 

 hour, after which she returned and deposited her egg in the 

 Pipit's nest. Now I cannot understand an egg being retained 

 for half an hour after it was due to be laid. Fright might 

 accelerate the laying of an egg, and all of us must have seen 

 many instances of this ; but I know of no instance of retarded 

 production under such circumstances. Again, Mr. Chance's 

 pictures show that though his Cuckoos seem to get their 

 breasts and foreparts well into the nest, the other end is 

 right up against, or actually projects over, the edge of the 

 nest, and I doubt if .an egg so laid would not fall out rather 

 than into the nest. I was much puzzled over this until I 

 watched the photo of the first Cuckoo, which comes down 

 and stands a few seconds outside the nest. This bird 

 obviously has something in her gullet sufficient to distend it 

 and make the feathers all stick out. This something is in 

 all probability her own egg. When slie comes out the other 



