0:30 CLASS AVKS. 



the stmnvjost succeoiloil, ami was the onlv ono bmught up by 

 tho old warbloi'S. 



Of tho authonticity and justice of the fi>resjoing observa- 

 tions, there eau be no doubt ; and thev sivni to place the 

 cuckow in a very dilVerent }x>int of view fi-on» tliat in which 

 it stmuls ii\ the fables of vulgar cnxlulitv. Instead of Innnsi 

 fivni its birth a bird of prey, and devouring the little ones 

 of its niu'se, at a time when it can only open its mouth to 

 receive nourishment, this bird is purely inseetivon>us, wul not 

 at till the monster of ingratitude which it has Ixvn repn^ 

 sentetl. Yet set mueli liad this notion taken jwssession of the 

 popular mind, that to be as trnqratcfttl a^^ a cuckotc is a pn>- 

 verbial expressioiv mnong the iiermans, and the learnetl 

 ^leljuicthon has composetl an eUH]uent hju-angue on tlie in- 

 gratitude of this binl. Neither do the wren, the nxl-breast, 

 the warblei-s, and other gentle birds, lose their natural cha- 

 racter mid affection for their own offspring, when they 

 Ikhhwic the niu*ses of the cuckow ; nor do they siicritice the 

 least handst>me of their voung, kill, ;md teiir them piecemeal 

 to sjitisfv the voracity of their nursling Yet w ith such fables 

 has the natural historv of the cuckow boon filkxi, tuid they 

 have KxMi rc^x^atctllv ivpitxl even into very nuxlern works. 

 Klein tells us of a warbler being destivyeil by a cuckow ; but 

 the fact ap^Hwrs to Iv, that the former had forcibly engagt-ni 

 its head within the l^ars of the cuckow's cage, and the latter, 

 in the extremitv of lumger, was found pecking at it. When 

 Klein arrivetl. being intluenceil by the prevailing notions on 

 this subject, he easily persuadetl himself that the cuckow was 

 endeavouring to swallow the head of the warbler. But 

 deprived, as the cuckow is, of all the |x>wers of a carnivon>us 

 animal, it would have Ixvn choketl by such a morsel, and 

 utterly unable to break the Uwes, 



Certain facts mentioned by Montbeillard should set this 

 question at rest. " On the 27th of June," says tiiis 

 naturalist, " 1 placed a yoimg cuckow of the existing year. 



