2 
THE CUCKOO’S SECRET 
it forms the subject of several of the most famous 
poems in the English language. Moreover, its 
well-known “ parasitic ” habits have stimulated the 
curiosity of bird lovers to such an extent that there 
is extant a large mass of Cuckoo literature, in which 
theories, often of the wildest and most fantastic 
kind, have to a great extent taken precedence over 
ascertained facts. At the same time it would 
appear that many practical ornithologists who have 
acquired personal knowledge of the subject, have 
refrained from recording their experiences, and 
that many collectors, with numbers of Cuckoos’ eggs 
reposing in their cabinets, have remained unaware 
how much of the bird’s life-story is written upon 
the empty shells. 
For the information of such of my readers as 
may feel themselves insufficiently versed in elemen- 
tary Cuckoo-knowledge, I begin by stating briefly 
some of the main facts. 
The Cuckoo is a summer visitor to our islands, 
where it is well distributed and met with amidst 
all the varied scenery which this country can show. 
It returns to us from its African winter-quarters 
during April and May, April 20 being a fair average 
date on which we (in the south) may reasonably 
expect first to hear its welcome call. Presumably 
