STURNID.^. 231 



riensis), is remarkable for its habit of depositing its eggs 

 in the nest of some other bird, like our Cuckoo. It is 

 migratory at certain seasons, making its appearance in 

 the middle States of the American Union at the end of 

 March or the beginning of April, but it passes the winter 

 in the southern States. The name Cow-pen Bird given 

 to tliis species is due to its habit of frequenting the 

 inclosures in which cattle are confined, where it seeks for 

 seeds, worms, and insects. It is never known to build a 

 nest, but drops its eggs singly in the nests of numerous 

 species of small birds. Tlie young Cow-bird, like the 

 young of the European Cuckoo, is always found alone in 

 the nest of its foster-parents, and probably resorts to the 

 same means of getting rid of the rightful tenants that 

 is adopted by the Cuckoo, as it is found that when the 

 egg of the parasite is deposited before those of the owner, 

 the latter deserts its nest, and thus the object of the 

 intruder is defeated. It has been observed that the young 

 of this bird, like that of the Cuckoo, seems to possess 

 some power of attaching to itself the affections of almost 

 all small birds, as these cannot see it in a helpless state 

 without administering to its necessities. Wilson placed 

 a young bird of this species in the same cage with a 

 Okrdinal Grosbeak, and the latter, as soon as his compa- 

 nion began to be clamorous for food, set to work to satisfy 

 its appetite, and tended it like an aflectionate nurse ; 

 when he found that a grasshopper w^hich he brought to 

 his nurseling was too larg-e for it to swallow, he broke 

 it into small pieces, which he passed through his bill to 

 soften them, and then placed in the expectant mouth of 

 the little Cow-bird wdth the greatest gentleness. The 

 length of the Cow-pen Bird is about seven inches ; its 

 plumage is black with a greenish gloss. The female is of 

 a brown colour, 2)aler below. 



The type of this sub-family is — 



The Capped Troop-bird (ChrT/somus frontalis). 



31 -J. 



