OP NOETHUMBEKLAIfl) AKD DUKHAM. 27 



of the nest, the Cuckoo on the other by itself. On the morning 

 of the following day I once more went to the nest; the three 

 Accentors were gone, and the Cuckoo was the sole occupant. 

 One of the Accentors lay dead on the ground below the nest. 

 On the 10th June I saw the foster parents feeding the Cuckoo ; 

 on the 12th the nest was destroyed, probably by a mouse, and 

 the Cuckoo also had disappeared. 



When the egg of the Cuckoo is not hatched, the young of the 

 foster birds are reared. In 1870, I met with a case in point; 

 the nest contained two eggs of the Hedge Accentor, and one of 

 the Cuckoo ; after a day or two the Accentors were hatched. I 

 continued to watch for several days, ia the hope that the Cuckoo's 

 egg would also be hatched, but it proved to be addled. The 

 parents fed their little brood with great attention, and neither 

 they nor the young took any notice of the unhatched egg, which 

 lay sometimes above and sometimes below the nestlings. 



On another occasion I watched two Accentors feeding a young- 

 Cuckoo, which was so large that it completely filled the nest. 

 The foster parents were most assiduous, bringing every five or 

 seven minutes a mouthful of insects, and occasionally a large 

 caterpillar. It was amusing to note the actions of the young 

 Cuckoo when I approached the nest ; it spread out its wings, set 

 up its feathers, and opened to its greatest extent its wide mouth, 

 making aU the while a peculiar noise in the most defiant manner. 

 I offered the little creature tempting caterpillars, but it would 

 not take one. The Cuckoo is quite naked when first hatched, 

 and has not even any down in the young state. 



23. OXYLOPHUS, Swamson. 



6. Gkeat Spotted CtrcKoo. 0. glandaeius, Linnaus. 



Cuculus glandarius, Yarrell, Hist. Brit. Birds, Ed. 2, II., 200. 

 Oxylophus ,, Gould, Birds of Great Britain, Part XX. 



A specimen of this extremely rare visitant was shot near 

 Bellingham, North Tyne, August 5th, 1870, and was kindly 

 presented to the Newcastle Museum by "W. H. Charlton, Esq., 

 Hesleyside. 



