34 
THE CUCKOO’S SECRET 
the crow — may I say the Cuckoo ? — flies, from 
other suitable ground for this species of Pipit. 
It is obvious that only by finding every egg of 
the Cuckoo as laid would it be possible to establish 
absolute proof of the theory resulting from last 
season’s study, when I attempted to show that 
Cuckoo A had laid her eggs on alternate days. 
Until we knew for certain how often the Cuckoo 
laid, it would not be possible for us effectively to 
lie in wait for her to come and deposit her egg ; 
and again, until we had seen her lay and deposit 
an egg, we could not tell at what time in the morning, 
afternoon, or evening she was accustomed to per- 
form this function. If we were desirous — as we 
were — of finding all the eggs laid by this particular 
Cuckoo, should she return (as she did) for another 
season, it was first of all necessary to find all the 
Meadow Pipits’ nests on the common, and to keep 
taking them after they had reached such a stage 
of incubation as made them no longer attractive to 
a Cuckoo. Further, we had so to adjust matters 
that fresh nests would constantly be built, thus 
providing every incentive to the Cuckoo to continue 
to lay and deposit all her eggs in the nests of the 
Meadow Pipits on the common. Moreover, by 
keeping a daily watch on each nest found we hoped 
