Generic Characters. —Beak of- moderate lengtk^shorter thjin the head,
slightly curved, the upper mandible with a small but almost obsolete, notch near
the tip; the gape wide ; the under mandiblë' following the curve of th<|gpper.
Nostrils basal, circular, pierced intbe-centre of a naked .membrane-. Wings
rather long and pointed, the third quill-feather the longest. 'TaiTfqng and graduated.
Tarsi stout, partly feathered ; toes two in, front, two behind ; the outer
toe on each side reversible.
T h e Natural History jrf. the ,Cuck oö has . always been a
subject of great interest to the Ornithologist'; ^and although
its habits are now pretty well ascertained, the question why
this bird, of all our numerous summer visiters, manynif them
coming from the same country, and existing on similar food,
should deposit.-its eggs in the nests of other birds, andjae
apparently regardless of its offspring,^ has not yet, received
a satisfactory answer,, yet it may j>e^"said. that considerable
advances have been made towards it.
. The male Cuckoo makes.-his‘.appearance in thisacountry
about the middle of A p ril; - and in “reference^ to the periods
which mark the various. stages of his - progress thrpugh the
season, I have: some where met with the following cpuplets,—
In April,
Come he will.
In May,
-Hè sings all day.
In June;
He alters Kis’tune. -
In July,
— He prepares to'fly.
Come August, ’
Go he must.
The well-known notes of the male are listened to with
pleasure as the record of returning spring, with its bright
skies and gratifying associations ; the voice of the : female is
different, and has been compared to that of the Dabchick
and the Gallinules. Unlike most other birds, Cuckoos do
not pair; but a female is occasionally seen on the wing, and
is frequently attended by one or more males. The earliest
eggs do not appear to be laid till the-middle of May, and
* IghC'p^litfd ativh^g - ali late as the 26th of June. Mr.
youn^CïSc^oo which* had just escaped
from a W^^tmlf^iifest^as 'taken^hn? Hampton Court Park
on 'the 18th of Augtistr^l^SS. T h l ^ ||^ which produced
this y@tmg--bifd; was probably laid during the second week in
, Ju ly ^ 'an d froin'fthewmiddle'of MaylMfo the middfeof July is
ilfcliidfed^p'^ob^bly, the ^^mp¥tÉmè; during, which the female
Ctfèki )’o' prodhcl^é^fsf® These’ ëggs$ a'srit-is well known, are
mteebdingly' sriiaff^coihp'ared.- to of the ’bird. • Thé
largest* ^gg'^utaiked- by-Ur. Jenrier,'weighed but
fiftv-» ë ?§raÉhsf' the- smallest only -Mrly-three grains'. Of four
. ëpeéiria^^1 in m^4own^ehHptl®%n üthe latgfe&t^öjlty measurès
Idnes' ajnd^'a- Half in length, a’nd^iglfdfhes and a 1 half in
breadth." This is |f|e -exact size bf tÜë'^e^ ;,©f the -Skylark,-
yet th"e'wiiparat-i%Ms|I# of thé twó birdk isffss- four to one.
The ^fég^’-'of thé1 Guek'oo,' according' "to? Mr. Selby,^requires
fburteh^Sys'-incubati^, and the^'yoüng-arè ablei tO- leave the
;a|§ si iii -Ihrêe'^weCM; 45ut’ requires feeding afterwards.
The egg' n ^gPCuckè'o; which is of a pale reddish grey
'Colour, has „been found in the nie'Sfe óf the Hedge Accentor,
tile Robin, the Redstart, WÈtethroat, Willow Warbler,
Pied Wagtail, Meadow-Pipit, Rock Pipit, ■ Sky Lark, Yellow
Bunting, Chaffinchj^Greenfinch, Linnet, and Blackbird,
ini||8& country»-: and on the European continent, M. Tern-
minck says, ,1% has also been found in the hists of the-Thrush
and the Red-backed ^llrike. ' From the circumstance of a
pair of Red-backed Shrikes having been seen feeding a young
Cuckoo, as recorded by Messrs.- Sheppard and Whitear in
their Catalogue of the Birds of Norfolk and Suffolk, it is
probable that the CuokoO- sometimes deposits its egg in the
nest- of the Red-backed Shrike in this country; b u tt the
nests in which the Cuckoo’s eggs'are most frequently found,
are those of the Hedge Warbler, the Pied Wagtail, and the