154 



therefore it is very common to find eggs and young birds 

 in the nest at once or young varying greatly in size. 



Our cuckoos do not la}' their eggs in nests of other birds, 

 but always build their own nests. European Cuckoos, 

 which belong to a different genus, do not build nests but lay 

 their eggs in nests of other birds. Much confusion exists 



Fig. 131. BLACK-BILL'S NEST AMONG BRIERS, 



on this subject because writers getting their ideas from 

 English books speak of the Cuckoo as a parasite and even 

 school teachers often ignorantlv inform their pupils of this 

 fact which is not true concerning our birds. The only bird- 

 parasite we have is the Cowbird. 



I have included Cuckoos under "Birds of Silence" be- 



