434 
C U C U L U S. 
difcuffion, of the importance of which he may not on the 
fir ft view be convinced. The bird which is the fubjedt 
of this article has given rife to fo many errors, that it is 
neceffary not only to extirpate thefe from natural hiftory, 
but to oppofe the attempts of thofe who endeavour to 
convert them into metaphyfical principles. Nothing is 
more inconfiltent with found philofophy, than to multi¬ 
ply the laws of the univerfe ; a phenomenon appears lingle 
and unconnedted, becaufe it is not accurately known ; and 
it requires an attentive companion of the works of na¬ 
ture, a clofe invefiigation of the relations which fubfift, 
to enable us to penetrate her views. 
Buffon enumerates more than twenty fpecies of birds, 
in the nefts of which the cuckoo depofus her eggs : the 
pettychaps, the blackcap, the babbling warbler, the 
wagtail, the redbreaft, the common wren, the yellow 
wren, the titmoufe, the nightingale, the redtail, the Iky- 
larlc, the woodlark, the titlark, the linnet, the greenfinch, 
.tile bulfinch, the throllle, the jay, the blackbird, and 
the flirike. The cuckoo’s eggs are never found in the 
nefts of partridges or qpails, at lead they never fucceed 
in them, becaufe the young of thefe birds run alinolt the 
inftant they are hatched. It is even fingul'ar that the 
young cuckoos, which, when bred in the cage, require 
feveral months before they eat without afiiltance, can 
ever be raifed in the nefts of larks, which bellow only 
fifteen days on their education. But in the ftate of na¬ 
ture, necefiity, liberty, and the proper choice of food, 
will confpire to unfold their inftindt, and hafteu their 
growth ; and may not the attention of the nurfe be pro¬ 
portioned to the wants of Iter adopted child ? 
We (hall, perhaps, be furprifed to find many granivo- 
rous birds, fuch as the linnet, the greenfinch, and the 
bulfinch, in the lilt of the cuckoo’s nurfes. But many 
of thefe, it lliould be remembered, feed their brood with 
infects ; and even the vegetable fubltances may fuit the 
cuckoo for a certain time, till it can pick up caterpillars, 
fpiders, and beetles, &c. which fwarnt about its manfion. 
When the neft, where it is lodged, belongs to a fmall 
bird, and confequently is conftrudted on a narrow fcale, 
it is ufually found fo much flattened that it can hardly 
be recognifed ; the natural effect of the bulk and weight 
of the young cuckoo. Another confequence is, that the 
eggs or young birds are frequently thruft out of the ne(t; 
but, though expelled from their paternal abode, they 
fometimes furvive ; for if they be fomewhat grown, if 
the nelt be near the ground, and if the afpedt is favour¬ 
able and the feafon mild, they find fhelter under the mofs 
or foliage, and the parents, without forfaking the intru¬ 
der, continue to feed and watch them. 
All the inhabitants of forefls affert, that, when the fe¬ 
male cuckoo has once depofited her egg in the neft which 
fhe has feledted, fhe retires to a diftance, and feems to 
forget her progeny ; and that the male never difeovers 
the fmalleft concern in the matter. The comte de Buf¬ 
fon fays, it is alfo very uncertain whether thefe birds 
ever pair ; they are ftimulated by appetite, but they 
fhew nothing like fentiments or attachment. The males 
are much more numerous than the females, and often 
contend for them ; yet the object of the ftruggle is a fe¬ 
male in general, without any fymptom of choice or pre¬ 
dilection ; and, when their pafiion is fatisfied, they de- 
fert her with the coldeft indifference. They difeover no 
folicitude, and make no provifion, for their offspring. 
The mutual attachment between parent^ is founded on 
the common tendernefs to their young. Thus far the 
comte de Buffon : we fliall now inftrudt the reader, 
fond of purfuing nature in her peaceful and more retired 
abodes, from the very curious obfervations of our coun¬ 
tryman Mr. Jenner, a gentleman of Gloucefterfiiire, who 
publifhed his remarks in the Philofophical Tranfadtions, 
p. ii. for 1788. He fiates as follows: 
The firft appearance of cuckoos in England, is about 
the middle of April. The fong of the male, which is 
well known, foon proclaims its arrival. The fong of the 
female (if the peculiar notes of which it is eompofed may 
be fo called) is widely different, and has been fo little 
attended to, that perhaps few are acquainted with it: 
the cry of the dobchick bears fome refemblance to it. 
Unlike the generality of birds, they do not pair. When 
a female appears on the wing, fhe is often attended by 
two or three males, who feem to be earneftly contending 
for her favours. From the time of her appearance till 
after the middle of fummer, the nefts of the birds feledted 
to receive her egg are to be found in great abundance ; 
but, like the other migrating birds, (lie does not begin 
to lay till fome weeks after her arrival. It is on all 
hands allowed, that the cuckoo does not hatch its own 
eggs ; for which different realons have been given. The 
hedge-fparrow, the water-wagtail, the titlark, the red¬ 
breaft, the yellow-hammer, the green-linnet, or the win- 
chat, is generally the nurfe of the young cuckoo in Eng¬ 
land. It may be fuppofed, that the female cuckoo lays 
her egg in the abfence of the bird in whofe neft (he in¬ 
tends to depofit; as we have feen, that on fight of one 
of thefe a redbreaft; and its mate jointly attacked her on 
approaching the neft, putting her to flight; and fo ef¬ 
fectually drove her away, that fhe did not dare return. 
Among the birds above-mentioned, it generally, accord¬ 
ing to Mr. Jenner’s obfervations, feledts the three firft, - 
but fliews a much greater partiality to the hedge-fpar¬ 
row. This laft commonly takes up four or five days in 
laying her eggs. During this time (generally after die 
has laid one or two) the cuckoo contrives to depofit her 
egg among the reft, leaving the future care of it entirely 
to the hedge-fparrow. This intrufion often occafions 
fome difeompofure : for the old hedge-fparrow at inter, 
vals, whilft lhe is fitting, not unfrequently throws out 
fome of her own eggs, and fometimes injures them in 
fuch a way that they become addle ; fo that it frequently 
happens that only two or three hedge-fparrovv’s eggs are 
hatched with the cuckoo’s. But whether this be the 
cafe or not, (lie fits the fame length A time as if no fo¬ 
reign egg had been introduced, the cuckoo’s egg requir¬ 
ing no longer incubation than her own. When the hedge- 
fparrow has fat her ufual time, and difengaged the young 
cuckoo and fome of her own offspring from the (bell, 
her own young ones, and any of her eggs that remain un¬ 
hatched, are foon turned out, the young cuckoo remain¬ 
ing poffeffor of the neft, and foie object of her future 
care. The young birds are not previoufly killed, nor 
are the eggs demolifhed; but all are left to perifli to¬ 
gether, either entangled about the bufh which contains 
the neft, or lying on the ground under it. 
“ The early fate of the young hedge-fparrow (fays 
Mr. Jenner) is a circumftance that has been noticed by 
others, but attributed to wrong caufes. A variety of 
conjedtures have been formed upon it. Some have fup¬ 
pofed the parent cuckoo the author of their deftrudtion ; 
while others, as erroneoufly, have pronounced them 
fmothered by thedifproportionate fize of their fellow-neft- 
ling. Now the cuckoo’s egg being not much larger than 
the hedge-fparrow’s, it neceffarily follows, that at firft; 
there can be no great difference in the fize of the birds 
juft burft from the ftiell. Of the fallacy of the former 
affertion alfo I was fome years ago convinced, by having 
found that many cuckoos eggs were hatched in the nefts 
of other birds after the old cuckoo had difappeared, and 
by feeing the fame fate then attend the neftling fpar- 
rows as during the appearance of old cuckoos in this 
country. But, before I proceed to the fadts relating to 
the death of the young fparrows, it will be proper to 
mention fome examples of the incubation of the egg, and 
the rearing of the young cuckoo; fince even the well- 
known fadt, that this bufinefs is intruded to the care of 
other birds, has been controverted by the hon. Daines 
Barrington ; and fince, as it is a fadt fo much out of the 
ordinary courfe of nature, it may ftill probably be dilbe- 
lieved by others. 
“ Example i. The titlark is frequently feledted by 
the 
