"I wonder why the Cuckoo became the harbinger of spring rather than, say, the Chifchaff, which is equally recognisable and evocative of a change in season? Maybe it is the elusive and rather haunting quality of the Cuckoo. When I was at school, I was told by another boy that when a Cuckoo sounded loud it was really far away and when it was faint it was close at hand. If that is so, my garden must be swarming with Cuckoos, because I rarely hear one these days!"