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ter : calyx inflated ; petals five, having 
claws, but no crown ; capsule three-celled. 
'J'liere are seventeen species. 
CUCUJUS, in natural history, a genus of 
the Coleoptera order of insects : antenn® 
filiform ; four feelers equal, the last joint 
truncate and thicker; lip short bifid, the 
divisions linear and distant ; body depressed. 
There are about thirteen species. 
CUCULL^RIA, in botany, a genus of 
the Monandria Monogynia class and order. 
Calyx four-parted; corolla four-petalled, 
unequal spurred ; filaments petal-like ; an- 
thers with distinct cells. One species found 
in the woods of Guiana. 
CUCULLANUS, in natural history, a 
genus of the Vermes Intestina. Body sharp, 
pointed behind and obtuse before ; mouth 
orbicular, with a striate hood. Most of 
this genns are viviparous, and generally in- 
testinal. There are four sections ; A, in- 
festing the mammalia ; B, infesting birds ; C, 
infesting reptiles; and D, infesting fish. 
There are seven species besides varieties. 
CUCULUS, the Cuckow, in natural his- 
tory, a genus of birds, of the order Pi- 
c®. Generic character: bill smooth, some- 
what bending and weak ; nostrils surrounded 
by a small rim ; tongue short and arrow ed ; 
toes two forward and two backward ; tail 
wedge-formed of ten soft feathers. Gme- 
lin enumerates fifty-five species, and I^- 
tharn forty-six. The following are most 
deserving of notice : C. Canorus the Com- 
mon Cuckoo. This bird is about fourteen 
inches long. It is found in Europe, Asia, 
and Africa. Its food consists of insects and 
the larva of moths, but when domesticated, 
which it may be without much difficulty, it 
will eat bread, fruits, eggs, and even flesh. 
Wlien fattened it is said to be excellent for 
the table. It is in this country a bird of 
jiassage, apitearing first almiit the middle of 
April, and cheering the vicinity of its ha- 
bitation with that well-known note with 
which so many exquisite ideas and feelings 
are associated. This note is used only by 
the male bird, and is the intimation of love. 
It has, very rarely only, been heard, like the 
song of the nightingale, in the middle of the 
night. About the close of June tiiis note 
ceases, but the cuckow remains in England 
till towards the end of September. It is 
imagined sometintes to continue in the 
country for the whole of the year, as it has 
occasionally been seen here so early as 
lebruary. Cuckows are supposed to 
winter in Africa, as they are seen twice a 
year in the island of Malta. 
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With the history of these birds have been 
blended much fable and superstition ; their 
mamifirs, however, are unquestionably in a 
high degree curious, and table in this, as in 
many other cases, is in a great degree con- 
nected with fact. It is almost universally 
agreed by naturalists that the cuckow does 
not hatch its own e^s, but deposits them 
in the nest of some other bird. Buffbn 
mentions the names of twenty birds, or 
more, on whom the cuckow passes tliis 
fraud. Those most frequently duped by it, 
however, in this manner, are the yellow 
hammer, the water-wagtail, and the hedge- 
sparrow, and of these three, by far more than 
the other two, the hedge-sparrow. The 
most minute and attentive examiner into 
this extraordinary peculiarity, is Mr. Edw. 
Jenuer, from whose observations on this in- 
teresting subject we shall select a few of the 
most important. He states, that the hedge- 
■sparrow is generally four or five days in 
compleating her number of eggs, during 
which time the cuckow' finds an opportunity 
of introducing to the nest one of its own, 
leaving the future management of it to the 
hedge-sparrow ; and though it frequently 
occurs that the latter is much discomposed 
by this intrusion, and several of the eggs are 
injured by her and obliged to be removed 
from the nest, he states, that the egg of the 
cuckow is never of this number. When the 
usual time of incubation is completed, and 
the young sparrow's and cuckow are disen- 
gaged from the eggs, the former are ejected 
from the nest, and the stranger obtains ex- 
clusive possession. A nest, buiit in a situ- 
tiiation extremely convenient for minute 
observation, fell under the particular ex- 
amination of this gentleman, and was found 
on the first day to contain a cuckow’s and 
three hedge-sparrow’s eggs. On the day 
following he ob.served a young cuckow and 
a young hedge-sparrow, and as he could 
distinctly perceive every thing passing, he 
was resolved to watch the events which 
might take place. He soon, with extreme 
surprise, saw the young cuckow, born only 
the day before, exerting itself with its rump 
and wings to take the young sparrow on its 
back, which it actually accomplished, and 
then climbed backwards with its burden to 
the verge of the nest, from which, with a 
sudden jerk, it clearly threw oft’ its load; 
after which it dropped back into the nest, 
having first, however, felt about with the 
extremities of its wings as if to ascertain 
whether the clearance were completely 
effected. Several eggs were afterwards put 
