J 90 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



has struck me that where any attempt has been made to describe these 

 early birds, the few and very vague particulars given have always appeared 

 to indicate the plumage of the young bird, an obvious absurdity, but very 

 suggestive of the Kestrel. I have now before me a table of " Indications 

 of Spring," extending over a very long period, and kept by a succession 

 of naturalists of the same family, and in the same parish; the date of the 

 Cuckoo's first note is there recorded for 106 years, the earliest being on the 

 9th April, 1752, the latest on the 7th May, 1767, and the mean of the 106 

 years the 23rd April. — Thomas Southwell (Norwich). 



There is no inherent impossibility in Cucuhis canorus arriving (from its 

 winter quarters) in Great Britain a few weeks earlier or later than usual. 

 In the North of Scotland we look for the arrival of this Cuckoo during the 

 first days of May, fully a fortnight later than in the South of England. 

 Experience teaches us that the bulk of species popularly termed " our 

 summer migrants " are annually seen and heard in Southern Britain about 

 the same date every year ; but you may rest assured that irregularities are 

 frequent. — H. A. Macpherson (Carlisle). 



As to the Cuckoo, I have nothing much to add to what I have already 

 published in my ' Birds of Oxfordshire' as to the date of its arrival. The 

 Cuckoo seldom reaches North Oxon before the last week in April. In twelve 

 years — 1878-1889— the average date of my own observation of it has been 

 the 27th or 28th. The earliest date is the 20th, in 1883. The dates of 

 my observation of it since that work was published are — 1890, April 26th '> 

 1891, April 27th; 1892, April 29th. In 1893 I was abroad. In my 

 " Notes on the Ornithology of Oxfordshire," in « The Zoologist ' for March, 

 I mention a Cuckoo reported as heard last year on March 28th by a 

 Mr. W. Wyatt, who is a birdstuffer, and ought not to be mistaken. I may 

 add that I am not an unhesitating believer in March Cuckoos. But March 

 at the date mentioned is almost out, and I am informed that the remarkable 

 summer of 1893 had then already commenced, I think it possible that the 

 observer was not mistaken. The appearance of a Cuckoo in the last days 

 of March, in an exceptional season, is, however, quite another thing from 

 the arrival of the bird in the first half of the month in a normal year. — 

 O. V. Aplin (Bloxham, Banbury). 



On referring to my son's diary, which I have before me, I find that the 

 earliest record of the arrival of the Cuckoo during the last twenty years was 

 on April 17th, 1875, and it is usually about the third week in April before 

 it is seen here. Often have I been told u in March " that the Cuckoo had 

 been seen or heard, but on investigation it proved to be a Kestrel which had 

 been seen, or a boy imitating the Cuckoo that had been heard. It is 

 surprising to hear the accuracy with which some boys can repeat the note 

 of this bird, deceiving sometimes a well-practised ear. — James Carter 

 (Burton House, Masham, Yorkshire). 



