35 6 Mr. Gordon Dalguesh,


known by its voice than actual appearance. It is a shy bird,

having a wonderful adaptation of hiding itself from view, though

its audible and far penetrating cry makes itself heard for a con-

siderable distance.


Thanks to numerous observers throughout the country many

actual facts have been established, which now make it possible

to base our theories on substantial ground, in spite of the ever-

lasting verdict of "probable though not proven" presenting

itself on every hand. An old Scotch name for the Cuckoo is

"gowk" (a fool in Scotland is spoken of as a " gowk,") but why

this should be I can never understand. That a bird should save

itself the trouble of catering for and looking after a family is, I

think, sufficient proof of cunning and deep thought and not

want of intellect. A Cuckoo's cry is easily imitated, and in

consequence the bird is readily decoyed. It is perhaps on this

account the name of "gowk" was given to it. When decoyed

both male and female come, and on one occasion I had three hen

Cuckoos flying around uttering their curious " bubbling " cry.

On several occasions whilst imitating the cry, small birds, notably

Willow Wrens and Yellow Buntings exhibited symptoms of ex-

citement. Many of the pictures of Cuckoos in books are drawn

quite wrong, that is with the mouth wide open. When uttering

its well known cry the bird does not open the bill, the breast being

then inflated like a pigeon and the tail slightly raised. This I

have many times witnessed. That the female bird calls "cuckoo"

is open to doubt, normally her cry is a low chuckle, or else a

gurgling bubbling note, at times sounding not unlike that of an

alarmed Blackbird. The old rhyme goes, "In June he changes

his tune," and this is sometimes wonderfully correct. On the

first of June last year 1906, I woke very early, and the first bird

note I heard was the broken " cuck cuck 00 " ; but this is often

heard in May as well. The average date of the arrival of the

Cuckoo is April 20th. In many papers and periodicals there are

notes about Cuckoos having been heard in March, or even Feb-

ruary ; but there is no proper foundation for these early dates.

In all cases only the cry has been heard, but no bird has been

procured or seen ; and until a February or March Cuckoo has

actually been secured, it is not wise to place any reliance on

these reports.



