10 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [VOL I. 



American bird. Such was the fact though, and the discovery caused 

 so much surprise that the bird was more closely watched than ever. 



Case I. — A Cuckoo was noticed constantly haunting the vicinity of a 

 cedar hedge, and as the bird behaved in what we considerd a very bold 

 manner for a cuckoo of decent bringing up, it was thought advisable to 

 seek a reason for the peculiar deportment of the bird. An investigation 

 of the cedar hedge was made and a chipping sparrow's nest found, and, 

 as might have been expected, eggs were in the nest. There would have 

 been nothing remarkable in the discovery had all the eggs been sparrow's 

 ■eggs, but they were not, and one looked very much as if it might belong 

 to a Cuckoo. I must confess that a connection between the Cuckoo and 

 the mysterious egg was, at least, suggested to our minds, and no one was 

 astonished when a genuine Cuckoo did actually come out of the egg, 

 although I can imagine the poor sparrow mother being puzzled over 

 her child. 



Next year the Cuckoos returned, and were evidently ashamed of their 

 former conduct, for a nest was built of a few crossed twigs in the crotch 

 of a Talman apple tree, and in due time two young birds made their ap- 

 pearance. These little fellows were undoubtedly of the same family as 

 the stranger found in the sparrow's nest the year previous, and all 

 had the hedgehog appearance, so characteristic in the young Cuckoo. 



Our faith in the Cuckoo having been shaken no surprise was mani- 

 fested when Case II. was observed. 



Case II. — Just in front of the house was a clump of Tartarian Honey- 

 suckles, and here some little yellow warblers built every year, notwith- 

 standing the fact that they had, on several occsaions, been rudely dis- 

 turbed by inquisitive intruders. A Cuckoo was noticed "spying out the 

 land," and was, of course, watched and eventually discovered coming from 

 the warbler's nest. The visit was evidently a satisfactory and reassuring 

 one, as an egg was left for the warbler to take care of. If the warbler 

 observed anything unusual in the appearance of the contents of the nest, 

 she kept the discovery to herself, and went resolutely to work to hatch out 

 a warbler superior to any of her race. When the brood was hatched one 

 bird proved a source of surprise and admiration to his parents, who had to 

 work without rest to supply their hungry child with food. Their efforts 

 were prodigious and might have been almost laughable had it not been 

 apparent that a tragedy was about to occur, as the young warblers were 

 neglected on account of the intruder. By and by, as the Cuckoo grew, 

 it was but natural the nest should seem small for such an important 

 fellow, as he was, and he soon discovered a simple method of improv- 

 ing the household arrangements. He crowded out his companions who 



