Birds. 557 



" The cuckoo's a fine bird, 



She sings as she flies ; 

 She brings us good tidings, 



She tells us no lies. 

 She sucks little birds' eggs 



To make her voice clear ; 

 And when she sings ' cuckoo ' 



The summer is near." 



Probably the circumstance that the eggs and little ones of the foster 

 parent of a young cuckoo are ejected from their own home, and are 

 sometimes found lying around a nest containing one of these crea- 

 tures, has given rise to the idea that the cuckoo preys on little birds 

 ! and little birds' eggs. 



The following rhymes upon the habits of the cuckoo are generally 

 known. 



" In April, 

 The cuckoo shows his bill : 

 In May, 



He singeth all day : 

 In June, 



He alters his tune : 

 In July, 



He prepares to fly : 

 Come August, 

 Go he must." 



It has long been a matter of dispute whether or not the swallows 

 migrate from this country to other lands during the severity of win- 

 ter. The general belief now is that most of them do ; but that a few, 

 which, by some cause or other, have been detained behind their con- 

 geners, remain with us in a torpid state. The verse which follows 

 tells us plainly what was the opinion of our forefathers on this subject. 



" The bat, the bee, the butterflie, 

 The cuckoo and the swallow ; 

 The carncraik and the wheatie-bird, 

 They a' sleep in the hallow." 



The last word of the third line varies in different parts of the coun- 

 try. In England, for instance, the line runs thus : — 

 " The corncraik and the nightingale." 



The redbreast, in ancient times, was regarded by the people of Bri- 

 tain as a sacred bird, — a creature under the peculiar protection of 

 heaven. And even to this day, boys are afraid to destroy the nest of 

 the robin, thinking that if they do so, some evil will assuredly befal 



