THE WILY CUCKOO.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 538, 1 February 1913, Page 2

THE WILY CUCKOO.

As is well -known, tin cuckoo makes qo nest of its own, but utilises ons built by some other bird, leaving the task of incubation to the future fosterparents. These foster-parents may belong to any small species of bird, such as meadow pipits, hedge-spar-rows, willow-wrens, wagtails, and others-all very tiny, birds in comparison with the cuckoo itself. The cuckoo' must, therefore, lay a very small egg to match those of its host, and, for the size of the bird, the cuckoo may be said to lay the smallest egg of any living species. The procedure adopted by the cuckoo is this. First it lays its egg on' the ground, then carries it by beak or claw into the nest of the intended fosterparents, who incubate it along with their o'-vn eggs. It is evident that the cuckoo searches for nests. With a view to testing its proceedings, I have, on various occasions, placed deserted and empty nests in tufts of grass on the ground frequented by the cuckoo. In some cases the trap has been successful, and a solitary cuckoo's e;;g was found lying in the dummy nest. Were proof needed, this would tend to show that the cuckoo needs no assistance from the parent birds in finding nests, and further inlirates that she is at no pains to ascertain before depositing her eg*, that the nest chosen is destined to be used. — Prof. Taylor, in the "Strand Magazine."