532 CLASS AVES. ^ 



meat, which is not natural to them. They frequently refuse 

 to eat it, but will greedily seize the caterpillars, or worms, 

 which are oflPered to them. It is to be presumed that in a 

 state of nature they make a more rapid progress in the use of 

 their natural faculties, through necessity, from the enjoy- 

 ment of liberty, and the choice and abundance of aliments. As 

 soon as their wings are sufficiently strong, they employ them 

 to follow their nurse over the neighbouring branches when she 

 quits them, or to meet her when she brings them their meal. 

 They are insatiable nurslings, continually holding open their 

 wide bill, and repeating every moment their cry of appeal, 

 accompanied invariably by a movement of the wings. This 

 cry is not less sharp than that of the red-breasts, or warblers. 

 They retain it in captivity, according to Frisch, as far as the 

 15th or 20th of September, and thus salute those who bring 

 them food. But it then commences to grow more grave by 

 degrees, and they soon lose it altogether, and preserve the 

 most profound silence, for they do not sing the first year. 

 These birds, thus captured, at five or six months old, are 

 rather stupid ; they seldom move, remaining many hours in 

 the same position, and are so little voracious, that they must 

 be assisted to swallow their meat, — a certain indication 

 that this food is not to their natural taste. 



The substances found in the stomachs of the young 

 cuckows must of necessity be different, since they are reared 

 by birds of different species. In the stomach of one of them, 

 brought up by wagtails, were found flies, scarabaei of different 

 kinds, small snails with their shells entire, grasshoppers, 

 caterpillars, and some vegetable substance not satisfactorily 

 identified. The pipets generally feed them on grasshoppers. 

 The most curious substance, however, found occasionally in 

 the stomach of young cuckows, is a ball, formed of hairs 

 closely intertwisted. Some are of the bulk of a pea, and 

 others as voluminous as a small muscovado nut. These balls 

 appeared to be formed entirely of horse hair, and would seem 



