THIRD SEASON (1920) : RECORD 67 
that the Cuckoo had laid her egg in or beside the 
nest, and had removed, without leaving a trace, 
one of the fosterer’s eggs. 
The Laying of the Twelfth Egg , Jane 4. 
Yesterday we had given the common a rest in 
view of the regularity with which the Cuckoo had 
so far laid her eleven eggs at intervals approxi- 
mating to forty-eight hours. To-day it seemed 
probable that the Cuckoo would place her egg in 
the third nest of No. 5 pair of Meadow T Pipits 
which had completed their clutch of five eggs only 
the previous day. We knew of no other suitable 
nest, although it was anticipated that No. 1 pair 
should be nearly ready with their fourth. Conse- 
quently I took up a fairly commanding position in 
the vicinity of the latter pair, placing the two 
Simmondses at other points so as to have as 
comprehensive a view of the common as pos- 
sible. 
I had made no entry in my note-book of the 
dates on which we had missed seeing some of the 
fosterers, but our failure to trace them had caused, 
and was causing, us much perturbation. So we 
spent the morning searching in vain for them, only 
gaining the first clue to their disappearance in the 
