465 
CUCULUS. 
the wing, she is often attended by two or 
three males. From the time of her appear- 
ance till after the middle of summer, the nests 
ot the birds selected to receive her egg are 
to be found in great abundance; but, like 
the other migrating birds, she docs not begin 
to lay till some weeks alter her arrival. 
It "is on all hands allowed that the cuckow 
does not hatch its own eggs ; for which dif- 
ferent reasons have been given, as will be 
afterwards noticed. , The hedge-sparrow, the 
water-wagtail, the titlark, the redbreast, tire 
yellow-hammer, the green-linnet, or the 
winchat, is generally the nurse of the young 
Cuckow : but Button enumerates 20 sorts of 
nests at least in which they have deposited 
their eggs. It may be supposed that the fe- 
male cuckow lays Iter egg in the absence of 
the bird in whose nest she intends to deposit 
it; as it has been known that on sight of one 
uf these, a redbreast and its mate jointly at- 
tacked her on approaching the nest, putting 
her to flight; and so effectually drove her 
away, that she did not dare to return. Among 
the birds above-mentioned, it generally, ac- 
cording to Dr. Jenner’s observations, selects 
the lust three, but shews a much greater 
partiality' to the hedge-sparrow. This last 
commonly takes up four or live days in lav- 
ing her eggs. During this time (generally 
after siie lias laid one or two) the cuckow 
contrives to deposit her egg among the rest, 
leaving the future care of it entirely to the 
hedge-sparrow. This intrusion often occa- 
sions some discomposure : for the old hedge- 
sparrow at intervals, whilst she is sitting, not 
unfrequently throws out some of her own 
eggs, and sometimes injures them in such a 
way that they become addle ; so that it more 
frequently happens that only two or three 
hedge-sparrow’s eggs are hatched with the 
cuckow’s than otherwise. But whether this 
is the case or not, she sits the same length of 
time as if no foreign egg had been intro- 
duced, the cuckow’s egg requiring no longer 
incubation than her own. 
When the hedge-sparrow has sat her usual 
time, and disengaged the young cuckow and 
some of her own offspring from the shell, her 
own young ones, and any of her eggs that 
remain unhatched, are soon turned out, the 
young cuckow remaining possessor of the nest, 
and the sole object of her future care. The 
y oung birds are not previously killed, nor are 
the eggs demolished ; but all are left to pe- 
rish ' together, either entangled about the 
bush which contains the nest, or lying on 
the ground under it. 
“ The early fate of the young hedge-spar- 
rows (Dr. Jenner observes) is a circumstance 
that has been noticed by others, but attribut- 
ed to wrong causes. A variety of conjectures 
have been formed upon it. Some have sup- 
posed the parent cuckow the author of their 
destruction; while others, as erroneously, 
have pronounced them smothered by the 
disproportionate size of their fellow-nestling.. 
Now the cuckow’s egg being not much 
larger than the hedge-sparrow’s, it necessa- 
rily follows, that at first there can be no dif- 
erence in the size of the birds just burst 
rom the shell. Of the fallacy of the former 
assertion also I was some years ago convinced 
by having found that many cuckows’ eggs 
were hatched in the nests of other birds after 
the old cuckow had disappeared ; and by 
seeing the same fate then attend the- nestling 
spar/ows as during the appearance of old 
cuckow? in this country.” But before lie 
enters on the facts relating to the death of 
the young sparrows, our author proceeds to 
state various examples of the incubation of 
the egg, and the rearing of the young 
cuckow ; a point which had been contro- ! 
verted by the lion. Daines Barrington, and 1 
disbelieved by others. For these, however, ! 
on account of their great length, we refer 
the reader to the original paper. 
It appears a little extraordinary that two 
cupkqws’ eggs should ever be deposited in 
the same nest, as the young one produced 
from one of them must inevitably perish;. yet 
two instances of this kind fell under our au- j 
thor’s observation, one of which he thus re- 1 
lates: “ June 27, 1787. Two cuckows and j 
a hedge-sparrow were hatched in the same j 
nest this morning ; one hedge-sparrow’s egg 
remained tin hatched. In a tew hours after, a j 
contest began between the cuckows for the j 
possession ol the nest, which continued un- | 
determined till the next afternoon; when one ! 
of them, which was somewhat superior in j 
size, turned out the other, together with the , 
young hedge-sparrow and tiie unhatched egg. I 
This contest was very remarkable, 'i he ! 
combatants alternately appeared to have the ! 
advantage, as each carried the other several j 
times nearly to the top of the nest, .and then \ 
sunk down again, oppressed by the weight of 
its burden ; till at length, after various efforts, 
the strongest prevailed, and was afterwards 
brought up by the hedge-sparrows.” 
But the principal circumstance that has 
agitated the mind of the naturalist respecting 
the cuckow is, why, like other birds, it should 
not build a nest, incubate its eggs, and rear 
its own young? There is no apparent rea- 
son, Dr. Jenner thinks, why this bird, in 
common with others, should not perform all 
these several offices; for it is in every re- 
spect perfectly formed for collecting mate- 
rials, and building a nest. Neither its exter- 
nal shape nor internal structure prevents it 
from incubation ; nor is it by any means in- 
capacitated from bringing food to its young. 
It would be needless to enumerate the va- 
rious opinions of authors on this subject from 
Aristotle to the present time. Those of the 
antients appear to be either visionary or er- • 
roneous ; and the attempts of the moderns 
towards its investigation have been confined 
within very narrow limits: for they have 
gone but little further in their researches 
than to examine the constitution and struc- 
ture of the bird ; and having found it possess- 
ed of a capacious stomach, with a thin exter- 
nal covering, concluded that the pressure 
upon this part, in a sitting posture, prevent- 
ed incubation. They have not considered 
that many ot the birds which incubate have 
stomachs analogous to those of cuckows. 
The stomach of the owl, for example, is 
proportionably capacious, and is almost as 
thinly covered with external integuments. 
Nor have they considered that the stomachs 
of nestlings are always much distended with 
food ; and that this very part, during the 
whole time of their confinement to the nest, 
supports in a great degree the weight of the 
whole body: whereas, in a sitting bird, it is 
not nearly so much pressed upon ; for the 
breast in that case fills up chiefly the cavity 
of the nest; for which purpose, from its na- 
tural convexity, it is admirably well fitted. 
These observations sufficiently show that the 
cuckow is not rendered incapable of sitting 
through any peculiarity either in the situa- 
tion or formation of the -stomach. 
In considering to what causes may be at- 
tributed the singularities of the cuckow, Dr. 
Jenner suggests the following as the most 
probable: The short residence this bird is 
allowed to make in the country where it is 
destined to propagate its species; and the 
call that nature has -upon it, during that short 
residence, to produce a numerous progeny.” 
The cuckow s first appearance here is about 
the middle of April, commonly on the 17th. 
Its egg is not ready for incubation till some 
weeks after its arrival, seldom before the 1 
middle of May. A fortnight is taken lip by j 
the sitting-bird in hatching the egg. The i 
young bird generally continues three weeks ! 
in the nest before it flies, and. the luster pa- 
rents feed it more than five weeks after this j 
period ; so that if a cuckow should be ready . 
with an egg much sooner than the time I 
pointed out, not a single nestling, even one 
of the earliest, would be lit to provide for it- j 
self before its parent would be instinctively j 
directed to seek a new residence, and be thus I 
compelled to abandon its young one ; for ; 
a) Id cuckows take their filial leave of this - 
country the first week in July. 
There seems to be no precise time fixed i 
for the departure of young cuckows. Our j 
author believes they go off in succession, pro- 1 
bably as soon as they are capable of taking j 
care of themselves ; for although they stay j 
here till they become nearly equal in size I 
and growth of plumage to the old cuckow, , 
yet in this very state the fostering care of ] 
the hedge-sparrow is not withdrawn from j 
them. 
It is supposed that there are more male 
cuckows than females; since two are often 1 
seen in dispute where a third has been in j 
sight; which, "no doubt, was of the opposite j 
sex. Mr. Pennant observed, that five male j 
birds were caught in a trap in one season ; j 
and Mr. Latham says, that “ out of at least j 
half a dozen that j have attended to, my I 
chance has never directed me to a female; I 
and it is to be wished that future observ- I 
ers may determine whether our observa- 
• tions have risen only in chance, or are I 
founded on general circumstances.”' He be- II 
lieves that the male birds are more liable to jl 
he shot,’ their note directing the gunner j 
where to take aim, wdiile the female is se- j 
cured by her silence. 
Cuckows may be, and often are, brought I 
up taine, so as to become familiar. They j 
will eat in this state bread and milk, fruit, in- ] 
sects, eggs, and flesh either cooked or raw ; 
but in a state of nature chiefly live on cater- I 
pillars of the smooth kind. Some have led j 
on vegetable matter, beetles, and small stones. 
When fat, they are said to be as good eating ■; 
a« a land-rail. The French and Italians eat jl 
them to this day. The antient Romans ad- 1 1 
mired them greatly as food; and Pliny says I 
that there is no bird which can be compared il 
to them for delicacy. 
In migrating, the major part of these birds I 
are supposed to go into Africa ; since they j 
are observed to visit the island of Malta twice 
in a year in their passage backwards and for- j 
wards, as is supposed, to that part of the : 
worid. The cuckow is well known also at j 
Aleppo. To the north, it is said to be com.-- ] 
