Children's own library . ears to be an erroneous opinion that these birdsinjure trees. Their only object in pecking away the woodand bark is to get at the insects which they know arehidden within. Now insects seldom or never bore intohealthy wood, but a decayed branch or stump is alwaysfull of them ; so the woodpecker, when he perceives adecayed branch or finds an unsound spot in the trunk,immediately sets to work industriously, and is rewardedby finding plenty of insects, which he draws out anddemolishes, with benefit to himself and good to others. The Wryneck is tolerably common in the south
Children's own library . ears to be an erroneous opinion that these birdsinjure trees. Their only object in pecking away the woodand bark is to get at the insects which they know arehidden within. Now insects seldom or never bore intohealthy wood, but a decayed branch or stump is alwaysfull of them ; so the woodpecker, when he perceives adecayed branch or finds an unsound spot in the trunk,immediately sets to work industriously, and is rewardedby finding plenty of insects, which he draws out anddemolishes, with benefit to himself and good to others. The Wryneck is tolerably common in the southerncounties of England, but is scarcely ever seen in thenorth and west. It feeds principally on ants, which itpicks up with great rapidity by means of its long WOOD S NATURAL HISTORY 153 tongue ; twisting its head and neck, and hissing like aserpent, if disturbed upon its eggs. The young alsohiss if they are molested. The Cuckoo, springs harbinger, has in all ages ob-tained for itself a name at once pleasing and disrepu-. THE COMMON CUCKOO table: pleasing, because its well-known notes are a signthat the cold winter is gone ; and disreputable, becauseit usurps the nests of other birds, of which the hedgesparrow is the usual victim. In its nest the Cuckoodeposits one of its own eggs, which are remarkably 154 woods natural history small in proportion to the size of the bird. The unsus-pecting hedge sparrow hatches the intruder togetherwith her own young. The Cuckoo rapidly increases insize, and monopolizes no small portion of the entirenest, besides taking the lions share of the mother, however, never seems to see the difference,but feeds and tends the interloper with quite as muchcare as her own young. The young Cuckoo ejects the former and rightfuloccupants of the nest by managing to get the egg oryoung bird upon its back, clambering up to the edge ofthe nest, and then throwing it over by a sharp American Cuckoo only occasionally appropriatesanothers nest
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