The Cuckoo. 291 
u Delightful visitant ! with thee 
I hail the time of flowers, 
When heav'n is fill'd with music sweet, 
Of birds among the bowers." 
Logan. 
The well-known notes of this bird, in spite of their 
monotony, are heard with pleasure in spring, as a sure 
prognostic of fine weather. The Cuckoo is generally first 
heard about the middle of April, and ceases towards the 
end of June. This bird is so shy that he is seldom seen 
when uttering his singular note. The female does not 
build a nest, but lays her eggs in that of some other 
bird. 
The Cuckoo is somewhat less than the magpie, his 
length being about twelve inches from the tip of the bill 
to the end of the tail. He is remarkable for his round 
prominent nostrils ; the lower part of the body is of a 
yellowish colour, with black transverse lines on the 
throat and across the breast ; the head and upper part of 
the body and wings are beautifully marked with black and 
tawny stripes, and on the top of the head there are a few 
white spots. The tail is long, and on the exterior part, 
or edges of the feathers, there are several white marks ; 
the ground colour of the body is a sort of grey. The legs 
are short, and covered with feathers, and the feet are com- 
posed of four toes, two before and two behind. 
We are indebted to the observations of Dr. Jenner for 
the following account of the habits and economy of this 
singular bird in the disposal of its eggs. He states that, 
during the time the hedge-sparrow is laying her eggs, 
which generally occupies four or five days, the Cuckoo 
contrives to deposit her egg among the rest, leaving the 
future care of it entirely to the hedge-sparrow. This 
intrusion often occasions some disorder; for the old 
hedge-sparrow, at intervals while she is sitting, not only 
throws out some of her own eggs but sometimes injures 
them in such a way that they become addled, so that it 
frequently happens that not more than two or three of 
the parent bird's eggs are hatched : but, what is very 
remarkable, it has never been observed that she has 
either thrown out or injured the egg of the Cuckoo. 
