Abstract
MUCH evidence has been given by naturalists to prove that birds of passage return to their old haunts. The following, I think, may be of interest to some of the readers of your valuable paper. For the past two springs a cuckoo gifted with a decidedly peculiar note has visited this neighbourhood. Within the last fortnight it has again arrived. Its song consists of three clear distinct notes, cuck—coo—coo, the second note being a semitone above the last. This it never varies. We all know that towards the end of its sojourn the cuckoo suffers from hoarseness, or, as the country people say, “changes its tune.” Although this bird suffers in a similar way, yet it still maintains its peculiar song—three notes. As far as I can ascertain, it does not wander beyond the same limits—from the park here to a little hill about half a mile distant. I think these facts not only conclusively prove that the cuckoo returns to its old quarters year after year, but that it also restricts itself during its stay in this country to the same locality.
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TAYLOR, F. Do Migratory Birds Return to their Old Haunts?. Nature 34, 53 (1886). https://doi.org/10.1038/034053b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/034053b0
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