OUCKOO. 16? 



for nearly a quarter of an hour. The Cuckoo feeds on moths, 

 dragonflies, and hairy caterpillars . I believe few birds will eat 

 the larva of the sawfly of the gooseberry, but I once saw five 

 Cuckoos together in my garden busily thus engaged. These 

 birds are perfectly harmless, yet the keepers constantly kill 

 them, no doubt mistaking them for Hawks. There has been 

 great discussion as to how the bird contrives to place its egg 

 in the nest, which is often so built, or situated, that it would 

 be impossible for it to adopt the usual method ; it is, how- 

 ever, now indisputably settled that it conveys it in its mouth. 

 Formerly, when a Cuckoo was shot while on this errand, 

 the broken egg in its mouth caused it to be suspected of 

 robbing other birds' nests. According to the nursery rhyme, 

 " It sucks little birds' eggs to make it sing clear." I have 

 occasionally found the Cuckoo's egg in the nest of the 

 Chaffinch and Greenfinch, and in that of the Pied Wagtail ; 

 but those of the Hedge- Sparrow, the Robin, the various 

 Pipits, and the Reed -Warbler, seem to be usually preferred. 

 The Cuckoo has generally left us by the end of July, though 

 an occasional bird, usually young, may be observed late in 

 September. 



It is generally diffused all over the county, but prefers 

 open heaths, especially those where there are scattered 

 timber trees'. It is also partial to marshy land. When 

 uttering its note, it usually sits horizontally on a bough. Its 

 mode of flight, and its general appearance, are so much like 

 those of a Hawk that it is much persecuted by small birds, 

 for which they, like the gamekeeper, no doubt mistake it, 

 and, perhaps for that reason, it is very shy and retiring. In 

 the numerous eggs which I have seen, there has been very 

 little variation in colour, some being slightly redder than 

 others. I took one, at Cowfold, from a Hedge-Sparrow's 

 nest, which was as large as that of the Alpine Accentor, and 

 of the same colour as that of the Hedge-Sparrow, of which 



