THIRD SEASON (1920): RECORD 69 
Later in the evening I took Simmonds to make 
a thorough search of the place I had been watching 
and where I had seen the Cuckoo in the afternoon. 
At about 8 p.m. the male of No. 1 pair showed the 
usual signs of agitation when distressed by one’s 
proximity to a sitting mate, so we set to work to 
re-beat the gorse. Although I had previously 
searched and tapped every patch of gorse in the 
vicinity, Simmonds suddenly called out that he 
had flushed the hen from the nest, which contained 
two of her eggs and the coveted twelfth egg of the 
Cuckoo. This nest, i 4 , was exceedingly well 
concealed down a hole entirely overhung by gorse, 
and was within three yards of where I had thrown 
my cap at 3.15 to mark the spot whence I believed 
the Cuckoo to have risen. Obviously she had, on 
observing my departure at 3 p.m., availed herself 
of the opportunity to fly down and lay her egg in 
my absence. Reference to the notes for June 18 
and 26 will show other instances of the Cuckoo 
visiting a nest immediately after some one had left 
the site. 
The Laying of the Thirteenth Egg , June 6. 
To-day I was accompanied by Mr. C. F. Bristol, 
of Edgbaston, whom I had invited to come and 
