School: Rathnew
- Location:
- Rathnew, Co. Wicklow
- Teacher: D. Ó Drisceóil
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0927, Page 034
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The cuckoo comes in April
She sings her song in May
In the middle of June she ends her tune
And then she flies away.
The cuckoo builds her no nest at all but she legs her eggs in the other bird's nests. She always takes one of their out and throws it away when she lays her egg in it, the way the other bird would not notice her egg in the nest.
The magpie is a black and white bird and it is said that if you meet one on the road it is for bad luck. There is a kind of a rhyme about the magpie and it is the following:-
One for bad luck
Two for good luck
Three for sorrow
Four for joy
The robin never goes away at all. It stays here through Winter all Summer and all the seasons of the year. The robin builds its nest on a bank and it lays about six eggs. It is said that when Our Lord was being crucified that the robin picked the thorns from His forehead and the drops of blood fell on his breast and this is why he has a red breast.
- Collector
- Maire Timmons
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 13
