Mr. Charles Campbell's Letter. 259 



cuckoo had not yet arrived in the Edinburgh district, 

 the one in question commenced its well-known call 

 on April gth. Mr. Campbell said he was not aware 

 of any previous instance where the cuckoo had been 

 known to call in captivity." 



I at once wrote to Mr. Campbell and was favoured 

 by him with the following letter and notes : 



Dalmeny Park, 



by Edinburgh, 



23rd May, 1898. 

 Dear Sir, 



I duly received your letter of nth inst. regarding the 

 cuckoo, and am sorry I have not been able to reply to you 

 sooner. I have received quite a number of communications 

 regarding this bird, and vvhen I exhibited it before our society 

 meeting, I was hardly prepared to see it so extensively noticed. 

 To save me writing, I enclose for your perusal some notes 

 about the cuckoo and other birds I had intended to send to a 

 local paper, but have not done so as yet. 



I had not consulted Lord Lilford's book to which you refer, 

 but there is no doubt that this bird gives the true cuckoo-call ; 

 there is no chirping about it. 



I had a letter from the editor of the Sketch asking for a photo 

 of this bird. I had one taken, and it should appear in that 

 journal shortly, but, as the bird was in very poor p.umage, it 

 does not make a very pretty picture. 



If there is anything further you would like to know about the 

 bird, I will be very happy to give you any information I can, 

 and you might kindly return my notes with any criticism re- 

 garding it, which I will value as coming from an experienced 

 writer. 



I am. 



Yours very truly, 



Chas. Campbell. 



Alex. H. Japp, Esq., F.R.S.E., 

 London. 



