JULY 141 



Young Cuckoos have left the nest, and may be seen 

 in their curious, spotted first plumagej with their 

 foster parents in attendance. Sometimes a diminutive 

 titlark may be seen to perch on the head of the great 

 ugly fledgling in order to reach its mouth. Not only 

 does the young giant keep its proper caretakers very 

 hard at work^ but it seems able to excite the benevolent 

 interest of other small birds which chance to be in the 

 neighbourhood. On one occasion a querulous note, 

 as of some young bird calling for food, drew attenton 

 to a young cuckoo, which was perched on a ridge of 

 the plough-land, with fluttering wings and great red 

 mouth agape, while six wagtails industriously hunted 

 the neighbouring furrows for food. From time to 

 time one of them, tripping up to the cuckoo, deposited 

 the insects which it had collected in his capacious jaws. 



Dearly do the Wagtails love the well-kept sward of 

 summer lawns, where the Spotted Flycatcher hawks 

 insects all day from the edge of the tennis-net and the 

 Nuthatch's brisk " whit, whit " is heard from the 

 neighbouring elms, while in many such a sanctuary 

 the shy Kingfisher visits the fountain-basin in quest 

 of young goldfish. Who would not tide through the 

 sunny hours of a July day in company with a hammock, 

 the birds and a book, until at sunset the Swifts rush 

 screaming past the eaves to serenade their sitting mates, 

 to be joined sometimes by the bats, so late do they 

 linger ? Against the evening sky one may recognise 



