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Range (Breeds from Texas to New FIG)

Breeds from Texas to New FIG. 77. Cowbird. (Natural size.) Brunswick and Manitoba; winters from southern Illinois southward. Washington, rather rare P. R., common T. V. Sing Sing, common S. R., Mch. 22 to Nov. 11. Cambridge, very common S. R., Mch. 25 to Oct. 15; occasional in winter. BOBOLINK, MALE AND FEMALE.

BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC.

Nest, none, the eggs being laid in the nests of other species. Eggs, white, evenly and distinctly speckled with cinnamon-brown or umber, 86 x 65. The Cowbird is an acknowledged villain, and has no standing in the bird world. English Sparrows, either because they are not aware of the customs of New-World bird life, or because of a possible and not unlikely affinity, associate with him; but no self-respecting American bird will be found in his company. As an outcast he makes the best of things, and gathers about him a band of kindred spirits who know no law. There is an air about the group which at once tells the critical observer that their deeds are evil. No joyous song swells the throat of the male. His chief contribution to the chorus of springtime is a guttural bubbling produced with apparently nauseous effort. In small flocks they visit both pasture and woodland, and are given to following cattle, clustering about the feet of the herd, presumably to feed on the insects found there. They build no nest, and the females, lacking every moral and maternal instinct, leave their companions only long enough to deposit their eggs in the nests of other and smaller birds. I can imagine no sight more strongly suggestive of a thoroughly despicable nature than a female Cowbird sneaking through the trees or bushes in search of a victim upon whom to shift the duties of motherhood.

The ill-gotten offspring are born with the Cowbird character fully developed. They demand by far the greater share of the food, and through gluttony or mere size alone starve or crowd out the rightful occupants of the nest. They accept the attention of their foster-parents long after they could care for themselves; and when nothing more is to be gained desert them and join the growing flocks of their kind in the grainfields. 497. Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (Bonap.). YELLOW-