46 SECRETS OF ANIMAL LIFE 
smothered, but there is no doubt as to the general 
accuracy of Jenner’s description and Mrs. Black- 
burn’s drawing—the young cuckoo clears the nest 
by force. It is a mistake, however, to call it 
“criminal’’ or “murderer,” for it does not know 
what it is doing. It has an instinctive capacity 
for eviction, and that has in all likelihood arisen as 
an elaboration and concatenation of certain peculi- 
arities which are not very mysterious. Just as 
there are children who cannot bear to be touched, 
so the young cuckoo is hyper-sensitive to pressure 
on particular parts of the body, such as the sides. 
To certain pressures, inevitable in a nest which is 
too small for it, it responds by throwing itself 
backwards or by convulsive hitching movements of 
legs and arms, The flabby infant becomes strong 
with excitement, and performs feats of strength 
which seem scarcely credible. In any case it gets 
the nest to itself, and its foster-parents seem to be 
quite proud of their unusually large baby, whose 
appetite keeps them very busy. 
