COWBIRD. 137 



Occasionally Cowbirds are seen during the winter 

 near New York city ; but, as a rule, tliey retire farther 



Cowbird south at this season, and are first ob- 



Molothrus ater. scrved there in the spring about March 



Plate XL. 2:). They do not come in large flocks, 



but singly or in small bands. The male may now be 

 seen perched in an exposed position on a treetop, calling 

 his long-drawn-out, glassy klucJc, tse-e-e. Later, when 

 wooing the female, he utters a curious, gurgling note, 

 resembling the sound made by pouring water rapidly 

 from a bottle, and accompanying it by motions which 

 suggest extreme nausea. We often see these birds feed- 

 ing near cattle in the pastures, always in small flocks, for 

 they do not pair nor even construct a nest, the female lay- 

 ing her egg in the nest of another and generally smaller 

 species. Few birds seem aware of the imposture, and 

 not only do they incubate the egg but they may attend 

 to the demands of the young Cowbird at the expense of 

 their own offspring, who sometimes die of starvation. 

 Even after leaving the nest the young parasite continues 

 its call for food, and when seeing a Maryland Yellow- 

 throat, or some other small bird feeding a clumsy fledg- 

 ling twice its size, one wonders it does not detect the de- 

 ception. The better we know birds the more strongly 

 are we impressed with their individuality. To one who 

 has no friends in feathers it seems pure fancy to endow 

 some insignificant " Chippy " with human attributes ; but 

 in reality there are as clearly defined characters among 

 birds as among men. To be convinced of the truth of 

 this statement we have only to compare the Cowbird, a 

 thoroughly contemptible creature, lacking in every moral 

 and maternal instinct, with the bird who constructs a well- 

 made nest, faithfully broods her eggs, and cares for her 

 young with a devotion of which mother love alone is 

 capable. 



