CHAPTER III 
THE SECOND SEASON (1919) 
The season of 1919 was eagerly awaited, as I felt 
confident that I should acquire considerable know- 
ledge concerning the mysterious habits of the 
Cuckoo. Last year’s experiences suggested to my 
mind that the number of eggs that a Cuckoo might 
lay in a season would largely depend upon the 
number of available nests of that species which 
Nature inclined her to victimise, the species pre- 
sumably being that which had acted as her own 
foster-parents. And having collateral evidence of 
the tendency of Cuckoos to return annually to the 
same territory, I visited the common on May n 
for the purpose of removing any Meadow Pipits’ 
nests which might be in such a condition that they 
would be useless to the Cuckoo should she return. 
I was thinking of Cuckoo A to the exclusion of 
Cuckoo B, for I already regarded the common as 
the proper territory of the former bird. On this 
my preliminary visit two incubated clutches of 
24 
