Origin of Species Variorum

Comparison with 1869

Text in this page (from paragraph 1600, sentence 200, word 13 to paragraph 1600, sentence 200, word 42) is not present in 1869

But the American cuckoo is in this predicament; for she makes her own nest and has eggs and young successively hatched, all at the same time. It has been both asserted and denied that the American cuckoo occasionally lays her eggs in other birds nests; but I have lately heard from Dr. Merrell, of Iowa, that he once found in Illinois a young cuckoo together with a young jay in the nest of a Blue jay ( Garrulus cristatus ); and as both were nearly fully feathered, there could be no mistake in their identification. ↑ .. I could also give several instances of various birds which have been known occasionally to lay their eggs in other birds nests. Now let us suppose that the ancient progenitor of our European cuckoo had the habits of the American cuckoo, and that she occasionally laid an egg in another bird nest. If the old bird profited by this occasional habit, or if the young were made more vigorous by advantage having been taken of the mistaken maternal instinct of another bird, than when reared by their own mother, .. encumbered as she can hardly fail to be by having eggs and young of different ages at the same time; then the old birds or the fostered young would gain an advantage. And analogy would lead us to believe, that the young thus reared would be apt to follow by inheritance the occasional and aberrant habit of their mother, and in their turn would be apt to lay their eggs in other birds nests, and thus be successful in rearing their young. By a continued process of this nature, I believe that the strange instinct of our cuckoo ... has been generated. It has, also, recently been ascertained that the cuckoo occasionally lays her eggs on the bare ground, sits on them and feeds her young; this rare and strange event evidently is a case of reversion to the long-lost aboriginal instinct of nidification.

be inconveniently long, more especially as she .. migrates at a very early period; and the first hatched young would probably have to be fed by the male alone. But the American cuckoo is in this predicament; for she makes her own nest, and has eggs and young successively hatched, all at the same time. It has been asserted that the American cuckoo occasionally lays her eggs in other birds' nests; but I hear on the high authority of Dr. Brewer, that this is a mistake. ↑ Nevertheless, I could give several instances of various birds which have been known occasionally to lay their eggs in other bird's nests. Now let us suppose that the ancient progenitor of our European cuckoo had the habits of the American cuckoo; but that occasionally she laid an egg in another bird's nest. If the old bird profited by this occasional habit through being enabled to migrate earlier or through any other cause; or if the young were made more vigorous by advantage being taken of the mistaken .. instinct of another species, than by their own mother's care, encumbered as she could hardly fail to be by having eggs and young of different ages at the same time, and by having to migrate at an early period; then the old birds or the fostered young would gain an advantage. And analogy would lead me to believe, that the young thus reared would be apt to follow by inheritance the occasional and aberrant habit of their mother, and in their turn would be apt to lay their eggs in other birds' nests, and thus be more successful in rearing their young. By a continued process of this nature, I believe that the strange instinct of our cuckoo could be, and has been, generated. I may add that, according to Dr. Gray and some other observers, the European cuckoo has not utterly lost all maternal love and care for her own offspring.