. But
finding that we did not disturb her, she calmed down, and became so
fearless that she did not move nor appear agitated when at last we did
stop before her door, spoke to her, and identified her as the
black-billed cuckoo.

On the eighth day of our visits it happened that I went to the woods
alone. I found the bird at home, as usual, and armed with an
opera-glass, I placed myself at some distance to watch her. Half an hour
passed before she stirred a feather, but I was not lonely. A
mourning-warbler came about, eating and singing alternately, after the
manner of his kind, and the pretty trill of the black-throated green
warbler came out of the woods. Then a crow mamma created a diversion by
helping herself to an egg for her baby's breakfast, when a robin and a
vireo--curious pair!--took after her with loud cries of indignation and
reproach.

When this excitement was over, the trio had disappeared in the woods,
and silence had fallen upon us again, I heard the cuckoo call at a
little distance, and in a moment the bird himself alighted on a twig
three feet above the nest. He was a beauty, but he appeared greatly
excited. He threw up his tail till it pointed to the sky over his head,
then let it slowly drop to the horizontal position. This he did three
times, while he looked down upon his household, so absorbed that he did
not see me at all.

Then the patient sitter vacated her post, and he flew down to the nest.
The top was hidden by leaves, so that I cannot positively affirm that he
sat on the eggs, but it is certain that he remained perfectly silent
and motionless there for forty-five minutes. Then I caught sight of
Madam returning. She came in from the woods, behind and at the level of
the nest; there was a moment's flutter of wings, and I saw that her mate
was gone, and she in her usual place.

The next day there was a change in the programme. It happened that I
arrived when the mother was away, and the head of the household in
charge. No sooner did I appear on the path than he flew off the nest
with great hustle, thus betraying himself at once; but he did not desert
his post of protector. He perched on a branch somewhat higher than my
head, and five or six feet away, and began calling, a low "coo-oo." With
every cry he opened his mouth very wide, as though to shriek at the top
of his voice, and the low cry that came out was so ludicrously
inadequate to his apparent effort that it was very droll. In this
pe