natural Hijlory of the Cuckoo. 229 
June 27, 1787. Two Cuckoos and a Hedge-fparrow were 
Latched in the fame nefl this morning ; one Hedge-fparrow’s 
egg remained unhatched. In a few hours after, a contell be- 
gan between the Cuckoos for the poffeffion of the nefl, which 
continued undetermined till the next afternoon ; when one of 
them, which was fomewhat fuperior in fze, turned out the 
other, together with the young Hedge-fparrow and the un- 
hatched egg. This contefl was very remarkable. The com- 
batants alternately appeared to have the advantage, as each car- 
ried the other feveral times nearly to the top of the nefl, and 
then funk down again, oppreffed by the weight of its burden ; 
till at length, after various efforts, the flrongefl prevailed, and 
was afterwards brought up by the Hedge-fparrows. 
I come now, Sir, to confider the principal matter that has 
agitated the mind of the naturalifl refpe&ing the Cuckoo : 
why, like other birds , it fjould not build a ncf , Incubate its eggs, 
and rear its own young? 
There is certainly no reafon to be affigned from the forma- 
tion of this bird why, in common with others, it fhould not 
perform all thefe feveral offices ; for it is in every refpeCt per- 
fectly formed for collecting materials and building a neft. Nei- 
ther its external ffiape nor internal ftruCture prevent it from 
incubation ; nor is it by any means incapacitated from bringing 
food to its young. It would be needlefs to enumerate the 
various opinions of authors on this fubjeCt from Aristotle to 
the prefent time. Thole of the ancients appear to be either 
vifionary, or erroneous ; and the attempts of the moderns 
towards its inveftigation have been confined within very narrow 
limits; for they have gone but little farther in their refearches 
than to examine the conftitution and ftruCture of the bird, and 
I i 2 having 
