Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1885-01-01

was removed from the carcases. In Ireland
there are few flies. [ saw none and the
buzzard has no existence on the Island. Its
scavenger duties are performed by the crow.
AS am committed to no order and have
no plan, may as we'll say here as else
where, that the crows are numbered by the
hundreds of thousands; almost said mil
lions, in Ireland. The same is true Of both
England and Scotland, but think they are
more plentiful in Ireland than in either of
the other places.
Connected with nearly all the landlord
castles there are large groves or forests OF
trees. These trees have all, or nearly all,
been planted out, and are generally compar-
atively small. They are not large-bodled
and tall trees, such as are seen in the native
forests of our country. They consist OF sew
eral varieties of trees, but the most numer-
Gus are tirs-a species of pine. In one Of
these groves-that forming part Of the
premises of Lord Waveny-l saw, | dare
not say how many, crows; but | will dare
to say | saw more crows nests than are in
several counties in the State of South Caro-
lima. l am prepared to say as | believe,
that there are more crows on Lord Waveny'S
estate than are in the whole State of South
Carolina. | will not say that saw Il crows
nest on every tree in his premises, for l did
not see every tree, but saw what | never
saw before, and never expect to see again
until I 60 back to Ireland. / saw as many
as half dozen crows nests on one tree.
The strangest thing of all about this is the
fact that Waveny's castle is in close proX-
unity to Ballymena, a town of some nine
thousand inhabitants. American toWn-boys
would enjoy a glorious time in croW-shoOt-
ing, were these rOOkeries as near any OF our
towns. 1t was evident of the crows, not
only on Lord Waveny'S castle. grounds, but
in all parts Of Ireland, that they never, or at
least very rarely, are shot at.
There are two other birds in Ireland that
deserve to be noticed. So far as know they
are not found in America, at least not in the
Southern States. But | make no preten.
sion to any great knowledge of ornithology.
The two birds to which l refer are the cue
koo and corn-crake. About the latter there
is, so far as l know, nothing remarkable ex-
cept that it frequents corn fields (oat tields)
and may be heard uttering a strange crak-
ling note like no other sound that ever
heard, and although the bird seems, from
the sound, to be near by, it is very difficult
to get a sight of it. In size and general ap-
pearance it resembles somewhat our par
fridge. The cuckoo is real wonder, in
size and general appearance, especially.
When it is on the wing it resembles small
hawk. 1t is not, however, bird Of prey.
Its principal food is the caterpillar. So far,
the cuckoo may be regarded as beneficial.
The. cuckoo, like our whip-poor-will, is a
bird of passage. 1t spends from about the
middle of July to the first of April in Afri-
ca and the remainder Of the year in insular
and continental Europe. The males come
first in spring, and in few days after their
arrival the females come. Only the males
sing or give utterance to the sound from
which the name Of the bird is derived.
Soon after its arrival it ceases to sing en-
tirely, but again for a short time prior to
its departure it begins to sing again, but in
ling the first syllable, thus Cuck-cuckoo.
This seems to be the signal for its departure.
The cuckoo does some very strange things.
The female, it is said, only lays one egg,
and this always in the nest of some other
bird. 1t is claimed that the egg is, in color,
always like the egg of the bird in whose
nest it is laid. The cuckoo often, if not al
ways, deposits its egg in a nest so small that
il can not sit upon the nest rs other birds do
when laying. Such being the case it lays
its egg on the ground and then taking it up
in its bill deposits it in the nest of some
other bird. Having laid the egg and de-
posted it in the nest of another bird, the
cuckoo commits the whole matter of incu-
baton and feeding the young bird, when it
is hatched, to the bird in whose nest the egg
was deposited. So soon as the young cuckoo
creeps from the shell it places its wings
under the other young birds in the nest and
by peculiar upward motion throws them
out of the nest to the ground. The eXpell-
ing motion is such as to cause the proper
occupants of the nest to fall on their back.
Crippled by the fall they remain upon their
backs until they die. The young cuckoo
now becomes the sole occupant of the nest
and the only object of care to the bird whose
progeny it has mercilessly destroyed. 1t
grows rapidly, but is naturally SO stupid
and, lazy that its foster parents have to
perch themselves upon its back in order to
place'in it's mouth the food which they have
provided for its nourishment. AS might
be expected, the cuckoo is hated by every
other bird. 1t has no friends. Birds of all
kinds pursue it, and from all it fees as if
conscious that it hegan life AS house break
er and murderer.