position. Two more eggs were laid by the 25th inst., and were left in situ quo, but had disappeared somehow the next morning. The bird deposited another on the 26th inst., to which were added two eggs of the House Sparrow, to make up for those that were missing; all the three, however, lay broken at the foot of the tree on the following morning. She then seemed to settle down to regular business, and continued laying every day without intermission, each egg being removed as soon as laid, the total number up to July 17th reaching sixty-two, less the three that were broken or missing, leaving fifty-nine eggs in my possession from the one bird, which I fancy must establish a record. Concurrently with this another bird was laying in an adjacent plantation, but in a more erratic fashion, the eggs in this case being removed in batches of four and five. On two occasions she stopped laying for a day or two, and then continued depositing again; total number of eggs forty-three. Yarrell mentions an instance on the authority of a Mr. Salmon, who states he took no less than twenty-two eggs from a Wryneck that had laid on a Redstart's nest of the preceding year. Not being easy of access from above, the nest was bodily removed by means of a very convenient hole at the bottom no less than five times before it was finally abandoned. Again, in 'Lloyd's Natural History' we find another case recorded by a Mr. Norgate of a Wryneck laying forty-two eggs for two years in succession (1872–73); as Mr. Seebohm remarks in 1874, "her reproductive powers were apparently exhausted, as only one egg was laid, and in 1875 the place was deserted." No doubt there may be many other parallel instances, and I should be glad to know if anyone has heard of the larger number, viz. sixty-two, having been either equalled or surpassed. It seems such an extraordinary number that it is certainly worthy of being placed on record.—H. Alderson (Hilda Vale Road, Farnborough).
Popular Fallacy concerning the Cuckoo.—Perhaps the following rhyme may be of interest to Mr. Davenport (if not already known to him) and others, as it may possibly explain the origin of the popular fallacy concerning the Cuckoo sucking the eggs of other birds. The rhyme is said to be well known in the midlands:—
"The Cuckoo is a merry bird,
She sings as she flies;[1]
She brings us good tidings,
And tells us no lies.
She sucks little bird's eggs
To make her voice clear,
That she may sing Cuckoo
Three months in the year."
—C.B. Horsbrugh (Richmond Hill, Bath).
- ↑ See 'The Zoologist,' 1894, pp. 264, 306, 307, 308, 338, 340.
