312 Wonders of the Bird World 



A further confirmation of the method employed by the 

 young Cuckoo to rid itself of the other occupants of the 

 nest was given by that fine old naturalist, the late John 

 Hancock, in the ' Transactions of the Northumberland and 

 Durham Natural History Society ' (vol. viii. p. 213). He 

 made the following notes on the occurrence, as observed by 

 him in the grounds of his house at Oaklands — 



" I began in June to search the grounds carefully for as 

 many nests as I could find, that were to have Cuckoos' 

 eggs in them, and was fortunate enough to find one in a 

 spot convenient for making continued observations, on the 

 17th day of June, 1884. The Cuckoo's egg was in the 

 nest of a Hedge Accentor, containing four eggs of the 

 latter, and built in a bramble-bush, near the bottom of the 

 sloping terrace at Oatlands. I tried the Cuckoo's egg and 

 one of the Hedge Accentor's in water, to ascertain if they 

 were fresh or sitting. The former floated, denoting that it 

 was incubated ; the latter, sinking to the bottom, was of 

 course fresh. 



"On the 25th of June I examined the nest. No change 

 had taken place. There was still the one Cuckoo's egg in 

 the nest and the four Accentor's. 



" On Friday, the 27th June, I looked at the nest at 

 three o'clock in the afternoon, and the Cuckoo's egg was 

 hatched, and one of the Accentor's. At twenty-five minutes 

 to six o'clock I looked at the nest again, and another 

 Accentor's egg was hatched. 



" On Saturday morning, 28th June, I rose early, and went 

 to the nest at twenty minutes to four o'clock a.m. All was 

 quiet, and the old bird on the nest. At two minutes past 

 five o'clock I saw into the nest. There were just the young 

 Cuckoo, the two young Accentors, and the two eggs. A 

 few minutes aftei- five o'clock the young Cuckoo attempted 

 to put an egg out of the nest, by getting it on to its back 

 in the most clumsy manner ; but it did not su':-ceed in 



