The Common Cuckoo. BIRDS. The Bkonzk Cuckoo. 385 
of an egg so enormous as to be positively inconvenient. 
This is of some consequence, as the birds whose nests 
are selected by the Cuckoo for the reception of its 
eggs are all much less than itself. They are tolerably 
numerous, but the favourite species in this countiy 
seem to be the hedge-sparrow, the pied wagtail, and the 
meadow pipit. 
The Cuckoo’s egg is hatched in a shorter period than 
those of its foster parent, and thus the young Cuckoo 
commonly makes its appearance before many of the 
eggs of the latter are hatched. Its first business, after 
coming into the world, is to get rid as speedily as 
possible of all its companions, whether hatched or not, 
in order to secure to itself the exclusive attention of its 
foster parents, for as it has to grow' rapidly to maturity, 
it requires to be supplied with a much larger quantity 
of food than would fall to its share if the insects and 
worms collected by the old birds had to be divided 
amongst a nestful of hungry claimants. With this 
exceedingly selfish object in view, the young Cuckoo 
begins operations by gently insinuating his rump under 
the body of one of the young birds, which he then, with 
the assistance of his wings, contrives to hoist upon his 
back, which is provided with a peculiar depression for the 
express purpose of enabling the unfortunate little victim 
to ride there in safety. With his load properly poised, 
the young Cuckoo goes backwards until he reaches the 
edge of the nest, when, with a sudden jerk, he throws 
it olF to perish. The other young birds soon follow', 
and he then betakes himself to the unhatchcd eggs, 
which are disposed of in the same way. I'he instinct 
of getting rid of young birds in this way is found to last 
in the young Cuckoo for several daj's after he is hatched, 
but, singularly enough, he w'ill allow an egg to remain 
it put into the nest when he is nine or ten days old. 
The j'oung Cuckoo, left by this means the sole possessor 
of the nest, thrives rapidly upon the abundant nourish- 
ment, the enjoyment of which he has secured to him- 
self, and in the course of about three weeks he is able 
to leave the nest, although he still makes constant 
demands upon his foster parents ; and, indeed, there is 
reason to believe that the cry of the young Cuckoo will 
induce almost any bird in his neighbourhood to bring 
him food. This applies also to the other parasitic 
species of this family, and to the equally parasitic 
cow’pen-bird of the United States. Young thrushes, 
only just able to take care of themselves, have been 
known, in captivity, to bring food to young cuckoos, 
and the late Bi.shop of Norwich mentions an instance 
in w'hich a cuckoo administered a most severe punish- 
ment to a young thrush who ventured to devour a 
worm, instead of dutifully carrying it up to his greedy 
companion. The young Cuckoos do not leave this 
country till September, although the old birds, as 
already stated, depart at the end of July or beginning 
of August; young birds have even been known to 
remain in Cornwall till October. 
THE AUSTRALIAN CUCKOO {Cuculus optutus ). — 
This bird is so similar to our European species, that at 
first sight it might be regarded as the same bird. It 
differs, however, in some minor particulars, such as 
the greater breadth and distinctness of the black bands 
on the breast, the light fawn-colour of the abdomen. 
Von. I. 43 
and the smaller size of the claws. It has only been 
met with in the northern parts of Australia, and 
nothing is known of its habits. 
THE UNADORNED CUCKOO (Cuculus inornatus), the 
common species in Southern Australia, is a summer 
visitor to Van Diemen’s Land, and also appears to be 
partially migratory on the continent of Australia. It 
is about the same size as the preceding species, and of 
a brownish-gray colour, darker, and tinged with olive 
on the upper surface ; the feathers of the long tail are 
marked with triangular spots of white along their 
margins. The call of this species is very different 
from that of our common Cuckoo, being a ringing 
whistle, forming a succession of running notes, of which 
the last and highest are several times repeated. Its 
food consists chiefly of caterpillars, beetles, and Phas- 
midse, in pursuit of which amongst the branches it 
displays great agility. Like the European Cuckoo, 
this bird is parasitic in its habits, depositing its eggs in 
the nests of numerous species of small birds, and the 
young Cuckoo, after leaving the nest, may be seen 
sitting on the branch of a tree and receiving supplies of 
food from oj;her birds, sometimes belonging to more 
than oiie species. 
THE BRONZE CUCKOO (Chrysococcyx lucidus) appears 
to be the most widely dispersed of the Australian 
Cuckoos, being met with in all parts of the continent 
of Australia, and also in Van Diemen’s Land. It is a 
small species, measuring only five inches and a half in 
length, but the tail is much shorter than in the ordinary 
Cuckoos. The male has the whole upi)er surface of a 
rich bronze colour, with the wing primaries brown, and 
the lower surface white, with numerous transverse 
bronzed stripes interrupted in the middle ; in the 
female the bronzed tint of the upper surface is a mere 
wash upon the brown, and the transverse bars of the 
lower surface are faint, and of a brown colour. 
This bird is a summer visitor to Van Diemen’s Land, 
and partially migratory in New South Wales. It feeds 
upon insects of various kinds, and its note is described 
by Mr. Gould as a mournful whistle. Like the preced- 
ing it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, usually 
selecting a domed nest with a very small entrance. 
THE INDIAN BLACK CUCKOO (Eudynamys orlentalis), 
an inhabitant of India and the eastern parts of Asia, 
including its islands, is about twelve inches in length, 
and of a black colour, with a rich blue gloss on the 
upper surface. It is found about trees, and is a noisy 
bird, constantly uttering a loud note, compared to the 
syllables koyo. The food of this species consists tf 
fruits, and it deposits its eggs in the nests of the Indian 
crows (Corvus splendens and C. culminaiis). 
FLINDERS’ CUCKOO (Etuhjnamys Flindersii), an 
inhabitant of the eastern and northern parts of Aus- 
tralia, is about fourteen inches in length, of which the 
ample tail makes up nearly half. The male is entirely 
of a deep glossy greenish-black, with the irides red, 
and the bill yellowLsh-olive ; the female is brown above, 
with numerous buff or whitish spots and bars, and bufi'y- 
white below, spotted and barred with blackish-brown. 
The top of the head, and a streak running from the 
base of the bill along each cheek, are greenish-black. 
The habits of this bird are unknown. 
