HOW DOES THE CUCKOO CABBY HEB EGG? 263 



utmost fury by the pair of Robins, upon whose nest she desired 

 to " board " her offspring. Again and again the little birds 

 struck and buffeted her; and, on two occasions, one of the 

 Robins seized hold of the Cuckoo by the back of the neck and 

 hung on for a few seconds with all the fierce tenacity of a 

 bull-dog. Whenever the Robins made one of their ferocious 

 dives, the Cuckoo threw back her head, opened her great orange- 

 coloured gape, and squawked loudly — ergo, her egg was not 

 carried in her bill. Twice the Cuckoo disappeared into a recess 

 at the root of a hawthorn, and this the Robins in no way re- 

 sented. Emerging the second time from this recess, the Cuckoo, 

 in spite of the fiercest opposition, alighted with out-spread wings 

 and in a sprawling attitude about three yards further up the 

 hedge. Here, pausing for an instant, during which the Robins got 

 terribly excited, the Cuckoo made a sudden dash amongst the 

 grass and disappeared entirely, except for the end of her tail, 

 which was sticking out and in full view all the time. In two or 

 three seconds she reappeared, and flew straight away out of 

 sight, and so quickly that I was unable to see whether the pro- 

 tuberance in her throat had subsided or not. At once springing 

 up, I ran across the road to the very spot where she had gone 

 in. I put in my hand and felt three eggs, one of which was 

 moist and slightly sticky, — and this egg proved to be that of the 

 Cuckoo. I then went down and examined the recess which she 

 had previously twice entered, and found to my astonishment a 

 Robin's nest from which, by its appearance, the young had but 

 lately flown — and in the hedge I saw a young Robin hopping 

 about. What was the Cuckoo's reason for going to the old nest 

 first ? That this nest was in the same place as that which she 

 had remembered as the last year's nursery for her egg seems to 

 be one explanation. 



In support of my conviction that this Cuckoo carried her 

 egg in her throat, may I be allowed to re-state the following 

 facts ? :— 



I. She constantly opened her mouth to utter her continuous 

 squawks of protest, — her egg, therefore, was not carried in her 

 bill. 



II. Her tail being visible to me all the time she was engaged 

 at the nest, she did not lay her egg in the usual way. 



