Mall, to the 'Times,' at the end of July, states:—"For some years Cuckoos have been in the habit of visiting the osier-bed on Chiswick Eyot very early in the morning. This eyot runs into the London county boundary. I always suspected that they were seeking nests to lay their eggs in. Three weeks ago, when on the lawn by this house by the river, I heard a young Cuckoo screaming for food in a privet-bush hanging over the river. Looking among the thick branches with a glass, I could see its orange maw, and two unhappy Sedge-Warblers working overtime putting food down its throat. It was fully fledged, and could fly. For three weeks this bird has remained in this and adjacent gardens by the river, being fed all the time by the Sedge-Warblers. Every evening it took a flight up and down the river, apparently practising and testing its strength. When hungry it screeched at the rate of just one hundred screeches per minute, which had such an effect on the nerves of other birds that I have seen even the irreclaimable Sparrows fly down, peck up food, and fly into the thick bush where it was, though I did not see them feed it. 'In July away he fly' is part of Cuckoo lore. It is now known that the young Cuckoos leave first. This one, whose evening flights have been daily more extended, has gone. I dare say among the birds of Chiswick Eyot it is regretted as a 'fashionable departure.'"
The above was at once supplemented, in the 'Daily Mail,' by Mr. A.E. Day, of Highgate Hill, who wrote:—"Mr. Cornish's young Cuckoo at Chiswick is not unique. Young Cuckoos have been hatched in Highgate Cemetery this year. In one instance several of us watched a Hedge-Sparrow's nest in which a Cuckoo had laid an egg, and the little bird sat and hatched out that one egg. Although the bird left the nest on July 23rd, it may still be seen flying about the cemetery, fed by the Hedge-Sparrows. At least two Cuckoos, to my knowledge, have been hatched here this season."
The reintroduction of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) seems to be inaugurated in Norfolk, and the following letter from Lord Walsingham has appeared in the 'Norfolk Chronicle':—
"Sir,—An attempt is being made to reintroduce the Great Bustard in what was formerly one of the favourite haunts of this fine bird on the borders of the Norfolk fens. This effort is due to the public spirit of an English gentleman resident abroad, whose love of natural history has induced him to incur considerable expense and trouble in the matter. It is hoped that residents in Norfolk and Suffolk will agree to respect the birds, which will probably be at large before this letter appears, and by preventing their destruction will secure the success of an experiment to which the reintroduction of the Capercailzie in Scotland affords a parallel instance and an encouraging precedent.—Walsingham. Aug. 14th."
