262 CITIZEN BIRD 



" There goes another Oriole ! " cried Nat. " What 

 a beauty, too! I suppose he has a nest high up in one 

 of these elms over the road." 



" Very likely, for in autumn, when the trees are bare, 

 I have sometimes counted a dozen Orioles' nests in this 

 very row of elms." 



" Look, Uncle Roy ! Look over in that pasture ! 

 What are all those black and brown birds walking 

 round after the cows, just as chickens do ? " said Dodo. 



" Those are members of the Blackbird family called 

 Cowbirds, because they follow the cows as they feed, 

 in order to pick up worms and bugs that are shaken 

 out of the grass. But I am sorry to say that these 

 birds are the vagabonds of Birdland — the tramps I 

 told you of." 



The Baltimore Oriole 



Length seven and a half inches. 



INIale : orange flame-color, the head, neck, and upper half of back 

 black ; wings black, edged with white ; tail black and orange, 

 about half and half. 



Female : not clear orange and black, but the former color much 

 duller, and the latter mixed up with gray, olive, and brown. 



A Summer Citizen of the United States east of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, north to Canada, travelling to Central America for the winter. 



A worthy Citizen, fine musician, and a good neighbor. Belongs 

 to the guilds of Ground Gleaners, Tree Trappers, and Seed Sowers. 



THE COWBIRD 



(The Tramp) 



" Cluck-see ! cluck-see I " called a Cowbird, tiying 

 over the wall to join the others in the pasture. 

 " What a hoarse ugly cry ! " said Nat. 

 " Yes, but not more disagreeable tlian the bird's 



