228 Mr, Jenner’s Obfervatlons on the 
bably find an infurmountable difficulty in folely poflefling the 
neft, as its exertions would be unequal to the labour of turn- 
ing out the young birds Befides, though many of the 
larger birds might have fed the n eft ling Cuckoo very properly, 
had it been committed to their charge, yet they could not have 
buffered their own young to have been facrificed, for the accom- 
modation of the Cuckoo, in fuch great number as the fmaller 
ones, which are fo much more abundant ; for though it would 
be a vain attempt to calculate the numbers of neftlings de- 
ftroyed by means of the Cuckoo, yet the flighteft obfervation 
would be fufficient to convince us that they muft be very 
large. 
Here it may be remarked, that though nature permits the 
young Cuckoo to make this great wafte, yet the animals thus 
deftroyed are not thrown away or rendered ufelefs. At the fea- 
fon when this happens, great numbers of tender quadrupeds 
and reptiles are feeking provifion ; and if they find the callow 
neftlings which have fallen victims to the young Cuckoo, they 
are furnifhed with food well adapted to their peculiar ftate. 
It appears a little extraordinary, that two Cuckoo’s eggs 
fhould ever be depofited in the fame neft, as the young one 
produced from one of them muft inevitably perifh ; yet I have 
known two inftances of this kind, one of which I fhall 
relate. 
* I have known an inftance in which a Hedge-fparrow fat upon a Cuckoo’s egg 
and one of her own. Her own egg was hatched five days before the Cuckoo’s, 
when the young Hedge-fparrow had gained fuch a fuperiority in fize that the 
young Cuckoo had not powers fufficient to lift it out of the neft till it was two 
days old, by which time it was grown very confiderably. This egg was probably 
laid by the Cuckoo feveral days after the Hedge-fparrow had begun to lit; and 
even in this cafe it appears, that its prefence had created the diftiubance before, 
alluded to, as all the Hedge-fparrow’s eggs were gone except one. 
June 
