Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 5 (1901).djvu/155

Rh paper I narrated an instance of a Cuckoo hatched in a Reed-Warbler's nest being fed by a Thrush. Cuckoos, however, which have not found a caterer for their wants are occasionally picked up dead, and one was brought to me this summer which I suppose had met its death from that cause. We had another young Cuckoo at Keswick, and it was noticed that the interscapulary feathers were the last ones to sprout, being still in their sheaths when the Cuckoo had become almost too big for its domicile, which in this case was again a Hedge-Sparrow's nest. The back and not the interscapulary region is employed, I believe, in the ejection of young birds by the Cuckoo; but I have never witnessed this singular operation, and there can be no connection between it and the growth of the feathers.

13th.—Bullfinches, as usual, nested in our box-hedge, which I have never known to be without a Bullfinch's nest; and here I may remark on the gratifying increase in this species of late years. Goldfinches are slowly increasing, as well as Tree-Sparrows and Hawfinches, but unfortunately the House-Sparrow also. It is not only Hawfinches which rob us of our peas, but actually sometimes House-Sparrows. In addition to their other delinquencies, they will bore through the pod of "Sutton's Ringleader," pull the pea out, and fly off with it to some adjacent apple-tree. Their beaks are very strong, and here they apply them first to one side of the pod and then to the other, until it generally gives away about the middle, and a small hole is sufficient for extracting the peas, which the proprietor and his gardener can watch them enjoying. Bullfinches are inimical to the garden, but they are also very fond of privet-berries and elder-berries; so they should not be too hastily shot down, for there is often a superabundance of fruit-buds, while in January they eat the buds of the larch.

14th.—Two clutches of Shoveler Duck's eggs, taken respectively at Woodbastwick and Lynford, have been hatched out under hens at Keswick by Mr. E. Knight. At fourteen days the beak showed a perceptible widening, which at twenty-one days had become marked, and the beak was also very long. Unfortunately all but three died, and the largest of these at eight weeks old showed the blue speculum on the wing; while at nine weeks the bills had grown very much, and were disproportionately large compared to their bodies. Their gradual assumption of plumage