THE CUCKOO’S SECRET 
! 5 6 
as the position was most favourable for filming the 
Cuckoo’s glide. The Cuckoo seemed most anxious 
to return to the spot, but Smyth was standing 
there and so of course prevented her. At 5 p.m. 
they fixed up the camera in the open without a hide, 
but the Cuckoo naturally would have none of it, 
and disappeared. At 5.40 she returned, and at 
6.30 she floated down twice, but the camera 
frightened her. They came then to the conclusion 
that nothing could be done without a hide, so took 
the camera away. At 6.50 p.m. the Cuckoo 
floated down from another point and landed 
twenty yards wide of the nest. She returned to 
her original birch at 7.3 p.m. and floated down to 
the exact spot. Two minutes later she flew up and 
away. On going to the spot the observers found 
that she had deposited her egg in the dummy nest 
and taken away one of its previous contents. 
Smyth, Owen, Hawkins, and Helme then joined 
the rest of the party including myself, who had 
been watching Cuckoo L and hustling her about 
the common since 4.30 p.m. We were trying to 
drive this Cuckoo, which was floundering about in 
the deep heather like a pigeon with a broken wing, 
towards a Meadow Pipit’s nest with two eggs for 
which she was evidently searching. Occasionally 
