NOTES AND QUERIES. 317 



we thought we should save a few Pipits' lives ; but alas for human 

 interference in matters of this nature ! After carrying out this arrange- 

 ment I accompanied my friend part of the way to his lodgings, which 

 were at Baildon, and returned to the nests ; in that which contained the 

 young Cuckoos, one had been thrown out by the other, and in trying 

 to get back into the nest it had got its leg fast in some mat-grass, 

 but its head was hanging down into the nest. After extrication from 

 the grass it fell forward into the nest again. At this point I left for 

 some refreshment at a farm near by, and on my return both Cuckoos 

 were still in the nest ; the weather being very cold at the time, and I 

 find young Cuckoos when associated with other nestlings are much 

 more restless in warm than cold weather. However, fortunately, 

 again I had not long to wait before Greek was pitted against Greek, 

 and one would hoist the other to the top of the nest, but when the 

 feat was within an ace of accomplishment, be defeated by the other 

 grasping the top of the nest with both feet, the result being that both 

 birds toppled again to the bottom of the nest. This process of 

 hoisting each other from the nest continued until I left in the after- 

 noon. Before leaving the moor I visited the nest of the Pipit to 

 which my friend and I had committed the charge of eggs and young 

 in the morning, but, strange to say, the Pipit was sitting on an empty 

 nest, and the young Pipits were lying dead outside the nest ; the 

 eggs I could not find anywhere. Thus my confidence that the Pipits 

 would hatch and rear the introduced eggs and young of its own 

 species was sadly misplaced. I again visited the nest containing the 

 young Cuckoos on June 4th and got there at 10.30 a.m., to find both 

 Cuckoos outside the nest struggling together, their legs and wings 

 being interlocked octopus-like. The weather at this time was very 

 cold and even wretched for the time of year, and I quickly put both 

 Cuckoos back into the nest, and had an hour's walk on the moor, the 

 weather in the meantime getting worse, rain having set in, so I 

 returned to the nest and found that one of the Cuckoos had again 

 been thrown out of the nest, and owing to the cold weather was in 

 a very torpid condition. 



If the weather had been warm like the corresponding period last 

 year, by frequently putting back the Cuckoo again into the nest when 

 thrown out, I had hoped after about the fourth day that both Cuckoos 

 would settle down and live afterwards contentedly ; but in the circum- 

 stances I decided to leave one only in the nest and try to keep the other 

 alive two or three days, and introduce it again into the nest, if successful 

 in keeping it alive for this period, and in this I expected little difficulty, 

 since I had reared the Cuckoo formerly without any difficulty what- 



