Four feet, wings, and fins . flocks. Theyroost in the great swamps of America during thenight, but leave about sunrise to search in the woodsfor acorns and berries. They are a Galli7zaceousbird, and belong to the family Phasianidoer What kind of a bird is that? asked May. Ah ! that is the cuckoo, little idler that he is,replied Mr. Dumas. • Why do you call him an idler ? asked May. Because he is too lazy even to make his ownnest, laying his eggs in the nest of another birdwhen the proprietress is absent. A mother-birdvery often finds one of her birdies larger than theothers but has not sense e
Four feet, wings, and fins . flocks. Theyroost in the great swamps of America during thenight, but leave about sunrise to search in the woodsfor acorns and berries. They are a Galli7zaceousbird, and belong to the family Phasianidoer What kind of a bird is that? asked May. Ah ! that is the cuckoo, little idler that he is,replied Mr. Dumas. • Why do you call him an idler ? asked May. Because he is too lazy even to make his ownnest, laying his eggs in the nest of another birdwhen the proprietress is absent. A mother-birdvery often finds one of her birdies larger than theothers but has not sense enough to know that thisbig fellow is only an intruder; and if he keeps ongrowing until he becomes so large as to crowd out 262 THE SNIPE S NEST. all her own little ones, she never knows any differ-ence, but goes on feeding the one great bird that is lefther. The cuckoo is about fourteen inches in lengthand twenty-five in breadth. His throat is pale gray,his back a dove-color, and his breast white, crossedwith black Mr. Dumas, said Grace, who had been waitingsome time for a chance to speak, do you know,some natural historians claim for the Americancuckoo an entire absence of all the ugly traitsascribed to the European species ? They say the 263 THE SNIPES NEST. American cuckoo makes her own nest and rears herown young. So there are instances where the Europeancuckoo has been known to do the same; but, as ageneral thing, both species deposit their one ^^^ inthe nest of some small bird. Whether the mother-cuckoo thinks her time too short in temperate coun-tries to construct her own nest, or whether she can-not find material or a position to suit her, I do notknow; but I do know that I have often seen a cuckoohatched in another birds nest, and I have seenthe greedy cuckoo-baby plough up under the littlebirds that have a real right to their nest, and getthem, one by one, on her back, between her shoul-ders, and push with them to the edge of the nest, andthen cruelly throw
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1879
