July
which will constitute the standard work of reference for a long time to come, and thanks to his researches we, for the first time, gain a clear knowledge of the distribution of life in this region. The admirable map which accompanies the report is a valuable feature.—W. S.
Chance's the Cuckoo's Secret.[1]—We have from time to time noticed in the pages of 'The Auk' the publications in the British ornithological magazines dealing with the life history of the Cuckoo and commented upon the remarkable results that our friends across the water have attained through their painstaking studies. In the fore-front of this investigation stands Mr. Edgar Chance, who has now embodied all of his observations on the egg-laying habits of this interesting bird in the little volume before us.
He has recorded four seasons' detailed observations on what he considers to be the same female Cuckoo, and other chapters on more general problems in the life-history of the species. One must read the book to appreciate the painstaking work of the author and the importance of his investigations and only a brief summary of them can be given in this connection.
In the first place British ornithologists seem to be unanimous in the belief that individual Cuckoos lay eggs that are characteristic, and distinguishable from the eggs of other Cuckoos in the same vicinity, and also that under normal conditions an individual Cuckoo is parasitic on only one species of bird—the victim being known as the "fosterer" in the language of Cuckoo investigation. It would also seem that in the case of the Cuckoo it is the female that selects the breeding area and not the male, this being in contrast to the custom prevalent in most birds as described in Howard's 'Territory in Bird Life' and in Mr. H. Mousley's recent paper (Auk, July 1921).
The unique method of nidification in the Cuckoo is ample explanation for this reversal, while the fact that the same type of egg is found in the same area year after year, indicating the presence of the same individual cuckoo, confirms this theory.
All of these points are supported in a convincing way by Mr. Chance 's observations. The most interesting features of his researches are however that he was able in 1920 to locate probably every egg laid by this special Cuckoo which he had under observation, and in most cases to record the day and hour at which each was laid. There were 21 eggs laid, all but one in Meadow Pipits' nests, and at intervals of two days (except in two instances). So accurately did Mr. Chance forecast the day and nest in which the Cuckoo would probably lay that he was able to place a motion
- ↑ The Cuckoo's Secret. By Edgar Chance, M.B.O.U. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, Ltd. 3, Adam Street, W.C. 2, 1922. pp. 1-239. Numerous illustrations. Price 7s. 6d. net.
