166 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



HABITS OF THE CUCKOO. 



A few days will most probably see this 

 welcome bird of Spring amongst us again. 

 Whilst we patiently wait her well-remem- 

 bered song (for, be it remembered, both the 

 female and the male sing), let us hear what 

 Gilbert White says of her habits. 



" The cuckoo never builds a nest for her- 

 self, but drops her eggs into the habitation 

 of another, to whom it confides the care of 

 bringing forth its progeny. This kindness it 

 was formerly, and in many places, is believed, 

 the young cuckoo repays by devouring its 

 fostering mother. But this certainly is an 

 error. The disappearance of the foster- 

 nestlings from the nest in which a cuckoo is 

 hatched, is more satisfactorily accounted for 

 by the observations of the late Dr. Jenner, 

 to whom the world was indebted for the 

 inestimable discovery of vaccination. " On 

 the 18th June, 1787," says he, " I examined 

 the nest of a hedge-sparrow (accentor modu- 

 laris), which then contained a cuckoo and 

 three hedge-sparrow's eggs. On examining 

 it the day following, the bird had hatched ; 

 but the nest then contained only a young 

 cuckoo and one hedge-sparrow. The nest 

 wais placed so near the extremity of a hedge, 

 that I could distinctly see what was going 

 forward in it ; and, to my great astonishment, 

 I saw the young cuckoo, though so lately 

 hatched, in the act of turning out the young 

 hedge sparrow. 



" The mode of accomplishing this was very 

 curious. The little animal, with the assist- 

 ance of its rump and wings, contrived to get 

 the bird upon its back ; and making a lodge- 

 ment for its burthen by elevating its elbows, 

 clambered backwards with it up the side of 

 the nest, till it reached the top, where, resting 

 for a moment, it threw off its load with a 

 jerk, and quite disengaged it from the nest. 

 It remained in this situation for a short time, 

 feeling about with the extremities of its wings, 

 as if to be convinced whether the business 

 was properly executed, and then dropped into 

 the nest again. With these, the extremities 

 of its wings, I have often seen it examine, as 

 it were, an egg and nestling before it began its 

 operations ; and the nice sensibilities which 

 these parts seem to possess, seemed suffici- 

 ently to compensate the want of sight,which, 

 as yet, it was destitute of. I afterwards put 

 in an egg ; and this, by a similar process, 

 was conveyed to the edge of the nest, and 

 thrown out. 



" These experiments I have since repeated 

 several times, in different nests, and have 

 always found the young cuckoo disposed to 

 act in the same manner. In climbing up the 

 nest, it sometimes drops its burthen, and thus 

 is foiled in its endeavors ; but, after a little 

 respite, the work is resumed, and goes on 



almost incessantly till it is effected. The 

 singularity of its shape is well adapted to 

 these purposes ; for, different from other 

 newly-hatched birds, its back, from the 

 shoulders downwards, is very broad, with a 

 considerable depression in the middle. This 

 depression seems formed by nature with the 

 design of giving a more secure lodgment to 

 the egg of the hedge-sparrow, or its young 

 one, when the young cuckoo is employed in 

 removing either of them from the nest. 

 When it is about twelve days old, this cavity 

 is filled up, and then the back assumes the 

 shape of nestling birds in general. 



" It sometimes happens (which dis- 

 proves Pliny's statement), that two cuckoo's 

 eggs are deposited in the same nest ; and 

 then the young produced from one of them 

 must inevitably perish. Two cuckoos and 

 one hedge-sparrow were hatched in the 

 same nest, and one hedge-sparrow's egg 

 remained unhatched. In a few hours after- 

 wards, a contest began between the cuckoos 

 for the possession of the nest, which con- 

 tinued undetermined until the next after- 

 noon ; when one of them, which was some- 

 what superior in size, turned out the other, 

 together w r ith the young hedge-sparrow and 

 the unhatched egg. The combatants alter- 

 nately appeared to have the advantage, as 

 each carried the other several times to the 

 top of the nest, and than sank down again, 

 oppressed by the weight of the burthen ; till 

 at length, after various efforts, the strongest 

 prevailed ; and was afterwards brought up by 

 the hedge sparrow." — Gilbert White. 



TO A DEPARTED CHILD. 



BY HELEN HETHERJNGTON. 



I saw thee smile, in the bloom of health ; 



I kiss'd thy cheek as I bless'd thee : 

 That smile was sweet, ere the cares of wealth, 



Or the sorrows of life oppress'd thee. 



Joy brightly beam'd on thy pretty face, 

 And thy pale blue eye shone clearly ; 



Smiles left thy lip with a winning grace, 

 Assured that we all lov'd thee dearly. 



Thou wert too fair for this heartless world ; 



Too pure to encounter its anguish, — 

 And I trembled lest thou should'st be hurl'd 



In sorrow's wild vortex to languish. 



I saw thee again, — how calm thy rest ! 



I wept ! 'twas madness to mourn thee ; 

 Thy dear little spirit had join'd the blest, 



In Heaven, where angels had borne thee. 



And I saw thee laid in thy little grave, — 



Did I wish to recall thee ? — Never ! 

 Safe thou had'st pass'd over Life's troubled 

 wave, 



To DWELL WITH THE BLESSED FOR EVER ! 



