"It feeds on soft insects, hairy caterpillars, and tender fruits."
"Where does it build its nest?"
"The cuckoo, I am sorry to say, is not a very honest bird. Instead of taking the trouble to build a nest for herself, the female bird lays her eggs in the nest of other birds, and to them commits the care of hatching and rearing her offspring."
"I should not call that acting like a good parent," said Arthur. "Do the other birds take care of these young ones that are not their own?"
"Oh, yes! they not only take care of them and feed them for weeks, but sometimes they even let the greedy young cuckoos push their own children out of the nest."
"That's a hard case," said Arthur. "Is there any American bird that acts like the cuckoo?"
"Oh, yes!" said Uncle Oscar. "There is a little bird called the 'cow-bunting,' about as large as a canary-bird: she, too, makes other birds hatch her young and take care of them."
"I don't like such lazy behavior. Did you ever hear the note of the cuckoo?" said Arthur.