THE CUCKOO’S SECRET 
48 
Friday , May 28, 7.30 a.m. — Gave eggs to a Linnet, and 
so restarted the nest. 
Note. — The abnormal interval between the taking of 
the first nest and building of the second may reasonably be 
attributed to the Kestrel which, in my opinion, destroyed 
the female of No. 7 pair and the male of No. 8 pair, the 
remaining two birds making the new No. 8 pair. 
Second Nest (4). 
Saturday , June 12, 4.30 p.m. — Found nest by seeing 
Cuckoo A lay her sixteenth egg. Nest then contained one 
egg of the Pipit and that of the Cuckoo. Exchanged these 
eggs for two others. 
Sunday , June 13, 10 a.m. — Removed the two substituted 
eggs and the third egg of fosterer laid that morning, as 
owing to shortage of Pipits it was desirable to restart each 
remaining pair promptly. Left the nest empty. 
Monday , June 14, 11.30 a.m. — Owen visited nest and 
found Pipit had laid a fourth egg and another Cuckoo had 
also laid an egg therein. These I removed and no more 
eggs were laid. This other Cuckoo’s egg was laid either 
on Sunday in the empty nest, or on Monday before 1 1 .30 a.m . 
In either event the stranger Cuckoo did not remove an egg 
of the fosterer. 
Third Nest (5). 
Tuesday , June 22, 11 a.m. — Simmonds found nest 
containing two eggs of Meadow Pipit and the nineteenth 
egg of Cuckoo A which had evidently been laid on Sunday, 
the 20th, in exchange for the first egg laid of the Pipit. The 
laying of the Cuckoo’s egg presumably took place at an 
unusually early hour — prior to 1 p.m. 
Thursday , June 24. — Although we had removed the eggs 
and left the nest empty on Tuesday, the Pipit had completed 
her clutch of five eggs. Removed eggs and restarted nest. 
