74 
THE CUCKOO’S SECRET 
May 29 the former nest, 6% of the same pair, 
where, on May 31, she laid her tenth egg. 
Passers-by disturbed her at 4 p.m., when it was 
evident that she was anxious to lay. She flew 
across, right over my head, to the centre orchard, 
accompanied by two male Cuckoos, all three after- 
wards wheeling over to the north end of the 
common. Unaccompanied she then flew to an 
isolated oak tree (F) which borders the area on the 
south-east side, but owing to the thickness of the 
foliage it was impossible to see her. 
Between 4.30 and 4.45 the Cuckoo made four 
floating glides down to the nest, scarcely alighting 
and immediately returning to the same tree. But 
on the last occasion she stayed at the nest for 
rather over a minute, and during the whole of this 
time I could clearly see one of the Pipits, although 
both were at the nest, fluttering and tumbling 
around the gorse near the Cuckoo, which was mainly 
concealed by the herbage. The male Pipit had 
been in constant attendance on her during the 
preceding half-hour, accompanying her backwards 
and forwards on her flights to the nest. 
In a little more than sixty seconds the Cuckoo 
had laid her egg. As she left the nest and flew 
across to the “ east orchard ” I got a perfect view 
