THE CUCKOO—A MYSTERIOUS BIRD. 
By T. O. RusseLt. 
Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring, 
Ever yet thou art to me, 
No bird, but an invisible thing, 
A voice, a mystery. — Wordsworth. 
With the exception of the lark and the night- 
ingale, no European bird has had so much said 
and written about it as the cuckoo. While its 
musical performances are much inferior to 
those of the two well-known singers mentioned, 
its song being monotonous and unvaried, it 
may be classed among the most extraordinary 
“and interesting birds. In many ways it is most 
peculiar. It may not possess the curious shape 
of the Australian dodo, but its habits are 
stranger and more mysterious than those of 
any other well known bird. In the habits of 
no animal is the all-powerful mastery of in- 
stinct so fully manifested. 
The habits and mannerisms of the cuckoo 
have been more acutely observed than perhaps 
those of any other bird. For thousands. of 
years naturalists have been trying to under- 
stand and explain its mysterious ways, but have 
not,fully succeeded? There yet remain many 
impenetrable and seemingly never-to-be-un- 
derstood mysteries connected withit.. Enough 
about it has, however, been found out to prove 
that it is the bird of the strangest habits known 
to men. It seems curious that European 
naturalists have not long ago succeeded in 
finding out everything connected with the 
cuckoo. Were it a native of America, it is 
safe to presume that more would now be known 
about it, for Audubon alone would have de- 
voted years to the study of its habits, and 
would have solved every mystery connected 
with it, if they were capable of solution. 
The cuckoo (Cuculus canérus, Linnzus) is 
found almost all over the continent of Europe, 
but its habits in those countries popularly 
known as the British Isles shall only be men- 
tioned here. We know that its habits and pe- 
culiarities are the same, or nearly the same, all 
over the rest of Europe. 
A native of this continent can hardly reatize 
the charm of the notes of the cuckoo. Froma 
musical point of view there is not much in 
them, but the name ef the bird is evidently 
onomatopoetic; that is, formed from the sounds 
emitted by it, and this name is the same, or 
nearly the same, in the languages of all the 
countries it frequents. The two notes are ut- 
tered with such wonderful softness that they 
are really harmonious and pleasing, but they 
derive their principal charm from the time of 
the year in which they are heard, for the song 
of the cuckoo is a sure harbinger of summer. 
It is heard in that most delightful period of the 
year when the spring is ripening into the glory 
of summer. The first notes of the cuckoo al- 
ways cause a sensation of delight. They seem 
to say: ‘The glory of the year is at hand. I 
bring summer with me.” 
The cuckoo is about the size of the common 
American wood pigeon, and is much of the 
same color, only not quite so blue. It never 
varies a week in the time it makes its appear- 
ance every year, which for Great Britain and 
Ireland may be set down as about the 25th of 
April. In Southern Europe it appears a month 
or so earlier. It remains only six or seven 
weeks, and is rarely heard after the 10th ot 
June. Toward the end of its sojourn its -voice 
becomes hoarse and disagreeable, very differ- 
ent from the rich, mellow tones, it uttered on 
its arrival. After it has ceased to sing it is 
rarely seen. Where it comes from or where it 
goes to seems still a matter of doubt. It evi- 
dently passes the winter in some southern 
climes south of the Mediterranean, probably in 
Egypt, Algiers and the adjacent countries, but 
it sings only in Europe. It would seem that 
there is no positive proof that it spends the 
winter in the countries mentioned. Birds, 
however, resembling cuckoos have been seen 
in them in winter, but whether they are really 
cuckoos or not is open to a good deal of doubt. 
The cuckoo’s sole object in visiting Europe 
is to breed, and here we become acquainted 
with one of the most extraordinary habits of 
this mysterious bird, for it makes no nest, but 
deposits its egg or eggs in the nest of some 
other bird to be hatched. Why it does this, 
