THE SHINING CUCKOO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20760, 31 December 1930, Page 14

THE SHINING CUCKOO.

Sir, —I was interested in a recent telegram from your Dunedin correspondent about the shining cuckoo. There are tragedies in nature as well as in human life and a tragedy had occurred in the nost referred to. The cuckoo is a strange bird, it has no nest of its own, uses other birds' nests, it does not sit on its own eggs, and the young cuckoo turns the other birds out of the nest. It is pathetic to think of the grey warblers diligently feeding the voracious young bird that had destroyed their own progeny; surely a striking illustration of returning good for evil. I have recently been reading a very interesting book, "Fallodon Papers," by Viscount Grey. Viscount Grey is a lover of birds, and a close observor of their habits, and has much to say about the cuckoo. In studying the habits of birds he says you generally find this bird in a discreditable aspect compared with others. Ho describes having seen a cuckoo's egg in a sparrow's nest among the eggs tho sparrow had laid. A week later he examined the nest again and there ho found a young cuckoo, alone, naked, blind, hideous and apparently helpless. He then went to a whitethroat's nest, which was not far off, and borrowed temporarily 0110 of the young birds recently hatched and put it in the nest with the little cuckoo. He saw that apparently helpless, hideous thing turn tho little whitethroat out of the nest, after which he says nothing in nature was incredible to him. In the book referred to Viscount Grey tells an interesting story about Theodore Roosevelt, who was also a lover of birds. He had read about British birds, but he had never heard their songs and he wanted to hear them sing. He was planning a holiday in East Africa for shooting big game and afterwards he intended to visit England and when there lie wanted someone to take him into tho woods where he might listen to the songs of the birds. Sir Edward Grey (as ho was then) gladly offered his services and when the time came these two gentlemen went to a wood in Hampshire and as they listened to the birds Sir Edward told him their names. He says Mr. Roosevelt ha'! one of the most perfectly trained cars for bird songs he had ever known. If three or four birds were singing together ho would pick out thc-ir songs, distinguish each, and ask to bo told each separate name. Of all the songs he heard that day lie preferred the song of the blackbird, because of its "spiritual quality." During his term of office I remember reading that Mr. Roosevelt had expressed a strong desire to visit New Zealand, and if his life had been prolonged no doubt he would have accomplished his purpose. How delighted lie would have been to go into our bush and listen to the songs of the bellbird, the tui and other birds! A Constant Reader.