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it seizes with avidity, shakes them with 
violence, and after passing them several 
times backwards and forwards through the 
beak, till they are perfectly relaxed and 
pliant, swallows them. White says, that 
he saw several Cuckows skimming over 
a large pond; and found, after some ob- 
servations, that they were feeding on the 
ilbettulee, or dragon flies; some of which 
thej caught as they settled on the weeds, 
and some as they were on the wing. 
In the infancy of Ornithology, the 
Cuckow was uniformly ranged amongst 
the Accipitres. 
It is found in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 
and when fat is said to equal the rail in 
flavour. 
Before we leave this article it may not 
be amiss to enumerate a few of the fables 
relating to the Cuckow, handed down to 
us by ancient authors, especially as some 
of them are still believed by the credulous. 
In fact, the natural history of the Cuckow 
is so extraordinary, and its deviations from 
the general laws of nature so striking, 
that we need not wonder that it should 
