OBSERVATIONS ON THE CUCKOO. 79 
In this situation they soon became clamorous for food, 
and a great variety of birds hastened to the spot, 
many of which were observed to supply them with 
nourishment ; but unfortunately they soon perished, 
probably from a deficiency of warmth, as they had not 
been hatched many days and were almost destitute 
of covering. 
“The sons of Mr. Lord, of Ramsey, Essex, took 
four young Ravens from a nest and put them into a 
waggon in a cart-shed. About the same time they 
destroyed the young of a Magpie which had its nest 
near the cart-shed; and the old Magpies, hearing the 
young Ravens crying for food, carried them some, and 
constantly fed them till they were disposed of by the 
boys.” (Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xv. p. 10.) 
I have thus attempted to show, contrary to the 
opinion of Montagu, that the author of the article in 
the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ was perfectly correct in 
asserting that young Cuckoos are occasionally fed by 
a more than ordinary number of birds ; but that it is 
erroneous to suppose that these numerous purveyors 
are invariably of the same species as the foster-parents 
of the Cuckoos, and that their proceedings are influ- 
enced entirely by the latter. 
The belief that the Cuckoo sometimes constructs 
a nest and brings up its own young has been main- 
tained by several intelligent naturalists, and was 
entertained by that excellent zoologist Dr. Fleming, 
as is evident from the following passage extracted 
