126 Wild Life in a Southern County 



tilings in the country) so long that the moss has begun to 

 encase the lower portions. What with the projecting 

 thatch, the thick ivy, the timber thrown carelessly beneath, 

 the lichen-grown garden wall, and a large bush of lilac in 

 the angle, the place could hardly be more quiet, and is 

 consequently a favourite resort of the birds. 



Within reach from the window the swallows have their 

 nests, and the sparrows their holes, on the right hand ; 

 within reach on the left hand, among the ivy, the water- 

 wagtail has built her nest year after year. The wagtail 

 may always be seen about the place — now in the cowyards 

 among the cattle, now in the rickyard, and even close to 

 the door of the dwelling-house, especially frequenting the 

 courtyard in front of the dairy. As he flies he rises up 

 and then sinks again, in a succession of undulations, now 

 spreading the tail out and now closing it. On the ground 

 he generally alights near water ; he is continually jerking 

 the tail up and down. 



One spring a cuckoo came to this nest in the ivy close 

 to the casement ; she was seen flying near the house several 

 times, and, being observed to visit the ivy-covered gable, 

 was finally traced to the wagtail's nest. For several days 

 in succession, and several times a day, the cuckoo came, 

 and would doubtless have left an egg had not she been shot 

 by a person who wanted a cuckoo to stuff. 



It is difficult to understand upon what principle the 

 cuckoo selected a nest thus placed. The ordinary con- 

 siderations put forward as guiding birds and animals in 

 their actions quite fail. Instinct would scarcely choose a 

 spot so close to a house — actually on it; the desire of 

 safety would not lead to it either, nor the idea of conceal- 

 ment. She might, no doubt, have found nests enough at 

 a distance from houses, and much more likely to escape 



