11 OCTOBER 1930, Page 16

* * A STARVED ASSASSIN. There came to my notice

this year the first instance in my memory of the failure of a young cuckoo to extract food from its foster parents. It was born in a wagtail's nest, and after its cruel and normal instinct, ejected the young wagtaiti. As soon as the parents found their dead young below, they deserted the fosterling, who starved to death in the solitary nest. The whole series of events happened in a garden and was carefully observed. I know many instances where young cuckoos have been gratuitously fed by random birds, but never one where the foster parents have failed. IV: BEACH THOMAS.