THE PIED CRESTED CUCKOO 49 



Bengal call all birds possessing these pretty crests 

 bulbuls. On this principle the Bengali name for the 

 pied crested cuckoo is Kola bulbul. On the other hand, 

 black bulbuls (Hypsifietes) , which possess no crests, 

 are not recognised as bulbuls by the natives of India. 

 Obviously, the crest maketh the bulbul. 



The pied crested cuckoo is a bird that is easily 

 recognised. The upper parts of his plumage are black, 

 his lower parts and the tips of his tail feathers are 

 white. There is in each wing a conspicuous white bar. 

 Then, there is the black crest. As regards size the 

 plumage of the common cuckoo would fit our pied 

 crested friend like a glove. 



But it is not necessary to set eyes on him in order 

 to recognise him. To hear him sufficeth. In this 

 respect he differs in no way from his brother cuckoos. 

 A silent cuckoo is unthinkable. The generating of 

 sound is to the cuckoo what wine is to the wine-bibber, 

 poker to the gambler, fighting to the soldier, " votes 

 for women " to the Suffragette. According to cuculine 

 philosophy, life without noise is but the image of death. 

 The reason of this is obvious. At the breeding season 

 a vast amount of surplus energy is generated in birds. 

 This has to find some outlet. It is usually dissipated in 

 the form of vocal effort, the dances and antics of 

 courtship, and the labours of nest building and feeding 

 the young. Or it may find expression in more concrete 

 form in the growth of plumes and other ornaments. 

 To the parasitic cuckoos most of these outlets are 

 closed. They do not produce nuptial ornaments ; to 

 build nests they know not how. They are denied the 



