natural H if or y of the Cuckoo. 225 
that it was utterly incapable of difplacing either the egg or the 
young Sparrows, I was induced to believe, that the old Spar- 
rows were the only agents in this feeming unnatural bufinefs ; 
but I afterwards clearly perceived the caufe of this ftrange phae- 
nomenon, by diicovering the young Cuckoo in the a<ft of dif- 
placing its fellow-neftlmgs, as the following relation will fully 
evince. 
June 18, 1787, I examined the neft of a Hedge-fparrow, 
which then contained a Cuckoo’s and three Hedge-fparrow’s 
eggs. On infpefting it the day following, I found the bird had 
hatched, but that the neft now contained only a young Cuckoo 
and one young Hedge-lparrow. The neft was placed fo near 
the extremity of a hedge, that I could diftimftly lee what was 
going forward in it; and, to my aftonifhment, faw the young 
Cuckoo, though fo newly hatched, in the a<ft of turning out 
the young Hedge-fparrow. 
The mode of accomplilhing this was very curious. The 
little animal, with the afliitance of its rump and wings, con- 
trived to get the bird upon its back, and making a lodgement 
for the burden by elevating its elbows, clambered backward 
with it up the fide of the neft till it reached the top, where 
refting for a moment, it threw off its load with a jerk, and 
quite difengaged it from the neft. It remained in this fituation 
a fhort time, feeling about with the extremities of its wings, 
as if to be convinced whether the bufinefs was properly exe- 
cuted, and then dropped into the neft again. With thefe (the 
extremities of its wings) I have often leen it examine, as it 
were, an egg and neftling before it began its operations ; and 
the nice fenlibility which thefe parts appeared to poflefs feemed 
fufficiently to compenfate the want of fight, which as yet it 
was deftitute of. I afterwards put in an egg, and this, by -a 
fimilar 
