ANOTHER COMMON (1921) 
X S3 
find the nests of the Meadow Pipit fosterers. And 
seeing that the fosterers numbered at the very 
least some two dozen pairs, it was of course im- 
possible, owing to the denseness of the herbage, 
to manipulate their layings and relayings in such 
a way that the nest which the Cuckoo would select 
upon a particular day would be known beforehand 
to a like degree of certainty. In these circum- 
stances it was necessary to rely to a greater extent 
than I have previously described upon the Cuckoo 
herself for most of the results obtained. But in 
any area there are without question particular 
observation posts which are used by Cuckoos, and 
once one has become familiar with these posts, one 
has overcome much of the difficulty of getting into 
sufficiently close contact with the Cuckoo to enable 
one to observe her in her most intimate moments. 
From what little information we had gathered 
last season about this common there appeared to 
be about four Cuckoos victimising Meadow Pipits 
upon it. This season we took from it the eggs of 
five different Cuckoos, and the star performer, w r hich 
laid a series of fourteen, we nicknamed “ Mary 
Pickford.” She laid on the following dates : 
(1) May 19 ; (2) May 21 ; (3) May 23 ; (4) May 
2 7 5 (5) May 29 ; (6) May 31 ; (7) June 2 ; 
