BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 83 



stimuli. Mr. C. L. Barrett [Emu, vol. vi., p. 59) holds the belief 

 " that the process is referable to hereditary instinct or sub-con- 

 scious memory aided by dawning reason." The arguments 

 employed by both writers are equally strong in their own way, 

 and have much to commend in them. The whole subject is both 

 extremely interesting and intricate, and much remains to be learnt 

 before we can say we have unravelled the ins and outs and the 

 why and wherefore of the parasitical habits of the Cuckoos. Con- 

 cerning the method of ejectment Mr. C. L. Barrett says (Emu, 

 vol. v., p. 22) : — " Struggling desperately until it succeeded in get- 

 ting the feebly resisting Wren into the hollow of its back, and 

 balancing it there with extended embryo wings, the young Cuckoo, 

 with head bowed between its strong legs, which, with claws firmly 

 fixed in the sides, were straddled across the nest, worked its way 

 gradually to the entrance, and on this being reached suddenly 

 raised the head and with a sharp upward lift of the body pushed 

 lihe unfortunate nestling over the edge. His work accomplished, 

 the young usurper gave a final shrug of the body, as if to make 

 certain his burden was gone, and subsided exhausted to the bottom 

 of the nest." 



The young of the Pallid Cuckoo is very voracious, but perhaps 

 not more so than the young of other species. After it is fully 

 fledged it may be seen chasing its unfortunate foster-parents round, 

 calling lustily for food the while. It is very amusing to watch a 

 great hulking Cuckoo being assiduously attended by some tiny bird 

 who is in a continual fluster endeavouring to satisfy the wants of 

 its huge foster-child. 



The following list of the foster-parents of the Pallid Cuckoo 

 is compiled from my own observations and those of a number of 

 other Tasmanian observers, and is, as far as I can make it, a com- 

 plete one : — 



Dusky Robin (Petroeca vUtata) 

 Leaden Flycatcher (Myiagra rubecula) 

 White-fronted Chat (Ephthianura albifrons) 

 Grey-tailed Thickhead (Pachycephala glaucura) 

 Whistling Shrike-Thrush {Collyriocincla rectirostris) 

 Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) 

 Yellow-throated Honey-eater {Ptilotis flavigularis) 

 Black-headed Honey-eater (Melithreptus melanooephalus) 

 Strong-billed Honey-eater (Melithreptus validirostris) 

 New Holland Honey-eater (Meliornis novcB-hollandice) 

 Miner (Myzantha garrula) 

 Wattle-Bird {AcarvthochcBra inauris) 

 Brush Wattle-Bird (Acanthochcera mellivora) 

 Wood- Swallow (Artamus sordidus). 



The above remarks concerning the sources of the lists of foster- 

 parents of the Pallid Cuckoo apply with equal force to the other 

 species. 



