364 
CUCULIDiE. 
THE GEEAT SPOTTED CUCKOO, 
Has once been obtained. 
A letter from A. Crighton, Esq., of Clifden, Connemara, to Mr. 
E. Ball, gives the following information respecting it : — 
“ The cuckoo, pursued by hawks, was taken by two persons, 
walking on the island of Omagh. It flew into a hole in a stone 
fence or wall, was caught alive, and lived for four days on potatoes 
and water. The inhabitants of this country had never seen any 
bird like it before, and as they are constantly in the habit of 
fishing at Bofin and Arran Islands, if the bird were to be met 
with, no doubt they would have recognised it. The bird when 
chased by the hawks, appeared fatigued, weak, and emaciated, as 
though it had taken a long flight, as woodcocks and other birds 
of passage do on first arrival.” The month of March, 1842, is 
said to have been the time of its capture. On being sent to 
Dublin to be preserved, an excellent coloured drawing of it, the 
size of life, was kindly made by Miss Battersby, and forwarded 
for my acceptance : the plumage represented agrees best with that 
of the adult bird, as described by Temminck. The specimen has 
subsequently been obtained by Mr. Ball for the museum of Trinity 
College, Dublin. It is the only one known to have visited the 
British Islands. 
According to Temminck (part 3, p. 277), the northern parts of 
Africa seem to be the chief abode of this bird, which occasionally 
visits southern Europe— Spain, Prance (south of), Italy, &e. In 
Germany also, it has been met with in different instances. 
“ Mr. Gould, in his well-known w r ork on the Birds of Europe, 
says, that the true habitat of this species is the wooded districts, 
skirting the sultry plains of North Africa, but those that pass the 
Mediterranean, find a congenial climate in Spain and Italy. Op- 
portunities are still wanting to confirm the most interesting of its 
habits.” * 
* Yarrell, British Birds, vol. ii. p. 202. (2nd edit.) 
