Amser i ganu ydi Ebrill a Mai,
A hanner Mehefin, chwi wyddoch bob rhai.
This corresponds somewhat with the English:—
The cuckoo sings in April,
The cuckoo sings in May,
The cuckoo sings to the middle of June,
And then she flies away.
In Mochdre parish, Montgomeryshire, I was told the following:—
In May she sings all day,
In June she’s out of tune.
The following Welsh lines show that the cuckoo will not sing when the hay harvest begins:—
Pan welith hi gocyn,
Ni chanith hi gwcw.When she sees a heap,
Silence she will keep.
In certain parts of Wales, such as Montgomeryshire, bordering on Shropshire, it is thought that the cuckoo never sings after Midsummer-day. This faith finds corroborative support in the following lines:—
The cuckoo sings in April,
The cuckoo sings in May,
The cuckoo sings in Midsummer,
But never on that day.
In Flintshire, in Hawarden parish, it is believed that she mates in June, as shown by these words:—