Shining Cuckoo in Grey Warbler’s Nest

Forest and Bird, Issue 105, 1 August 1952, Page 4

Shining Cuckoo in Grey Warbler’s Nest

By

H. J. PAYNE

MR. PAYNE, of Wairoa, having heard Dr. Falla during one of our weekly Nature Question Time Sessions from 2YA describe the paucity of evidence up to date as to the actual method employed by the shining cuckoo to deposit its egg in a grey warbler’s nest, has sent us the following report of his observations.

When I lived in the country and while working with the sheep, I used to boil the billy at the one spot each day for lunch. In a manuka bush a grey warbler was building her nest. I watched her every day until the nest was finished. She then had a spell for two days before the first egg was laid. She laid three eggs, one each day. On the fourth day I did my beat the other way round so arrived at the nest site at least two hours earlier. I went to the nest and there were four eggs. I sat down to- my lunch and after I had been there a little while, still watching the nest, I saw a bird fly straight to the nest so I crept up ever so

quietly and there was a shining cuckoo in the nest with her bill sticking out. I withdrew a few feet, still watching the nest and in about two minutes out came the cuckoo, and on looking in the nest I saw five eggs, four warbler’s, whiteish, with pink spots, the odd egg a wee bit bigger, whiteish with light greenish streaks; the nest did not appear damaged in any way. I .still kept watch on the nest every day and in about 14 days the eggs all hatched, five all told. All went well for four days and then I found a young warbler dead on the ground below the nest the same thing happened every day until only the cuckoo was left.