. Reptiles and birds : a popular account of their various orders : with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting . Birds; Reptiles. CUCKOOS. 471 fixed home. At the breeding-time they wander from one district to another, reside two or three days with a male at one place, and then abandon him, according to inclination. It is at this time that the males so frequently utter the cry known to all the world, and from which the bird derives its name; it is a sort of call or challenge to the females, which in their turn reply by a jjeculiar clucking. Cuckoos lay eight or ten eggs
. Reptiles and birds : a popular account of their various orders : with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting . Birds; Reptiles. CUCKOOS. 471 fixed home. At the breeding-time they wander from one district to another, reside two or three days with a male at one place, and then abandon him, according to inclination. It is at this time that the males so frequently utter the cry known to all the world, and from which the bird derives its name; it is a sort of call or challenge to the females, which in their turn reply by a jjeculiar clucking. Cuckoos lay eight or ten eggs in the space of a few weeks. When an egg has been laid, the female seizes it in her beak, and carries it to the first unoccupied nest in the vicinity, and there deposits it, profiting by the absence of the proprietor, which would. l''ig. It'l'.—Cuckuu {CuciUii^ Ciinvrus, Linn.}. certainly oppose such an addition. A Redthroat has been seen to return unexpectedly, and force the stranger to retire with her burden. The next egg is placed in a neighbouring nest, but never in the same as the first. The mother is doubtlessly conscious of the unfortunate position it would place her two nurslings in if she acted otherwise, for it would certainly be impossible for two little Passerines to sujDply the wants of two such voracious beings as young Cuckoos. Pertinent to this, we will mention a fact that we have not seen stated in any work on natural history. It often hapi^ens that the female Cuckoo takes from the nest one of the eggs of the Passerine, breaks it with her beak, and scatters the. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Figuier, Louis, 1819-1894; Gillmore, Parker. New York : D. Appleton
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectrep
