54 
THE CUCKOO’S SECRET 
other then possible nests for the Cuckoo were those 
of pairs Nos. 2, 7, and 8, all of which we syste- 
matically visited after we had found them. The 
nest of No. 2 pair was only discovered (the eggs 
being obviously well incubated) on the evening of 
the day upon which the Cuckoo evidently laid her 
fifth egg in the nest of No. 5 pair. The fifth egg 
of No. 7 pair and the third egg of No. 8 pair were 
only laid that morning (May 21), so it was just as 
likely that the Cuckoo would victimise No. 7 or 
No. 8 pair as No. 5 pair. 
Let us now trace how we were led on to know 
when and where the Cuckoo would deposit her egg. 
At 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 22, we knew that 
the Cuckoo had deposited since mid-day the 
previous day what proved to be her fifth egg in the 
nest of what we subsequently identified as No. 5 
pair. At 3 p.m. on the next day, Sunday, May 23, 
a new nest with one egg of No. 1 pair was dis- 
covered. And a visit that morning to the nests of 
Nos. 2, 7, and 8 pairs of Meadow Pipits showed 
that the Cuckoo had not yet laid again. Avoiding 
the common for the rest of the day, for fear that 
our repeated visits would attract too much attention 
from the children and cottagers living close by, we 
returned at 8 a.m. the next morning, Monday, 
