MARCH CUCKOOS 359 



was very noisy, uttering its welcome note all the 

 afternoon, and in one instance flew close by me." 

 A third observer, Mr C. Gillanders, of Berkeley 

 Road, Gloucester, wrote : " On Saturday, March 

 31, I saw a Cuckoo here, and on Monday, April 

 2, both saw and heard one." Thus there appears 

 to be good evidence that the Cuckoo has been 

 both seen and heard in the south of Eng-land at 

 least a fortnight before the average date of its 

 arrival, April 15, as fixed by careful observations 

 extending over many years. But of late there 

 has been a noticeable tendency on the part of 

 a few individuals to " beat the record " by advanc- 

 ing the date of arrival to the middle and even 

 the beginning of March, until the spring of 1904, 

 when, as above stated, we were asked to believe 

 that a Cuckoo was seen in Hampshire on February 

 27. It can hardly be doubted that the observers 

 referred to were deceived by appearances. It is 

 surprising how few people are to be trusted, either 

 in the matter of eyes or ears, in regard to the 

 Cuckoo. Many do not know a Cuckoo on the 

 wing from a male Sparrow Hawk, which it resembles 

 in size, colour, length of tail, and flight ; others 

 convince themselves that they have heard this 

 bird's notes when they have been listening to a 

 clever imitation by some village bird-nesting boy, 

 or to the still more deceptive notes of a cuckoo 

 clock in a neighbouring cottage. Before one can 

 admit that Cuckoos are to be found in England 

 ■during the early days of March and the last week 

 of February, it will be necessary to produce better 



