128 



On certain Peculiarities in the 



Thus then it comes to pass that there are, and from the nature of 

 tho circumstances there must bo, proportionally many exceptions to 

 the rule. Thus too it comes to pass, that by far the greater num- 

 ber of Cuckoo's eggs bear the type of the eggs of the ' White-throat j 

 (Sylvia cinerea), and of the ' Pied Wagtail ' (Motacilla Yarrellii) i 

 the most common foster parents of the young Cuckoo and per- 

 haps in some localities, of the 'Meadow Pipit' {Anthus pratensis), 

 the 'Hedge Accentor' {Accentor modularis), and of the 'Reed 

 Wren ' {Sylvia arundinacea) : and that on that account eggs of 

 such colouring form the most frequent exceptions ; that is to say, 

 are most frequently found in the nests of other species. Thus too, 

 lastly it comes to pass, that these two above-named prevailing 

 colours of the Cuckoo's eggs, are spread over most localities, whilst 

 at the same time they also appear, almost everywhere, as exceptions 

 in other nests. For the diffusion of these two species, (the com- 

 mon White-throat and the Pied Wagtail) is very extensive, and 

 their haunts usually offer to the Cuckoo also the requirements of 

 its existence : it is therefore not without signification, that one 

 seldom finds in their nests Cuckoo's eggs of other colours, but one 

 does very frequently find in the nests of other birds, Cuckoo's eggs 

 of their type." 



[I will just quote, before I take leave of Dr. Baldamus, the three 

 following deductions, which he draws from his observations, and 

 with which he concludes his paper. 



I. " Nature must have some special motive in the circumstances 

 above detailed, so many, so connected together, but so peculiar. 



II. That motive is plainly to be seen : viz. that by means of 

 certain laws originally made she may ensure and facilitate the 

 preservation of a species otherwise much exposed to danger. 



III. She attains this end by a very simple method : in that she 



Chambers, [Ibis, vol. v., p. 475]. See also M. Vaillant's account of the African 

 Cuckoo shot by himself, and his faithful attendant, the Hottentot Klaas, and 

 the frequent occurrence of the egg laid by the Cuckoo as she fell wounded from 

 the tree. [Rennie's Architecture of Birds, p. 378.] 



1 The Pied Wagtail, the Meadow Pipit, and the Hedge Warbler, are perhaps 

 most frequently chosen as the foster parents in this country. 



