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A Word for the Cowbird 



r Mr. Abbott's interesting article, "A 

 'Cowbird Nursery,i' suggests to me that 

 there is occasion for a plea for this feather- 

 «ed Ishmaelite, against whom so many 

 hands are turned. 



It is not that Mr. Abbott is really so 

 Ted-handed. He destroys Cowbird eggs 

 without any qualms of conscience; and 

 •early in the morning he resolves to put 

 an end to the little murderer and menace 

 to the welfare of birddom. Then, with 

 malice in his heart, he takes another 

 picture of the voracious fledgeling, goes 

 to breakfast, and — manages to let the 

 •young monster get away! 



Mr. Abbott takes good pictures, but 

 he would be a failure as exterminator of 

 Cowbirds. Molothrus is wary, but he 

 ■could hardly find safer place than the 

 pastures above Rhinebeck. 



It is a curious fact that, while some 

 of the writers pass up the Cowbird with 

 a lick and a promise, others have given 

 much time and thought to this bird's 

 habit of laying in the nests of other birds. 



Cowbirds come high, — two larks for 

 a bunting, as Mr. Burroughs puts it, — 

 but for a long while I have had a suspicion 

 that they are really worth the price. If 

 the ability to get there under seemingly 

 adverse conditions may be considered a 

 point in his favor, then the little walker 

 -should be allowed to step right up and 

 take his place among the really decent 

 birds. And his day seems to be coming. 

 In several of the states he is protected — 

 "by class, if not by name. In Missouri he 

 has been an outlaw; but, as one of the 

 respectable Blackbirds, his disabilities 

 were removed by a law that went into 

 •effect August i6, and, from now, on the 

 heavy hand of the Commonwealth will 

 be laid upon the man who would do so 

 much as crush the alien egg. This is, of 

 •course, at present mainly on economic 

 .grounds. May it not be that, along with 

 the general uplift, people will come to 



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see that birds should be allowed to regu- 

 late their social and domestic affairs. 

 Is it not just possible that the little Chest- 

 nut-sided Warbler did not make such a 

 bad botch after all ? 



Not many summers ago, I came upon 

 a young male Cowbird in a small bush 

 by the roadside in a suburb of St. Louis. 

 He had left the nest before he could fly, — 

 a characteristic of this tribe, — and I re- 

 member well his bright eyes and the spirit 

 with which he resisted against capture. 

 It happened that he was brought up with 

 few restrictions; and in a very short time 

 he developed into a most interesting pet. 

 As his wings grew, he was given on oppor- 

 tunity to try them in a small backyard. 

 Sometimes he w-ould make extended 

 flights, circling high above the house-tops 

 and amusing himself in many ways; but 

 he seemed to consider it a trick of the 

 game to return to the finger from which 

 he had taken flight. I have had a number 

 of birds, and have observed many others. 

 I have read 'Bob,' the story of Sidney 

 Lanier's pet Mockingbird. I know the 

 pathetic story of the little Scraggles, but 

 never have I seen a bird that was quite 

 so companionable and happy as Chip. 

 He had much curiosity, and a match was 

 his undoing. A knoll in one of our city 

 parks became his last resting-place. 



There has been not a little discussion 

 as to whether the Cowbirds ever depart 

 from their parasitic habits. In at least 

 one case, it has been reported that in 

 confinement they built a nest and reared 

 young. It is not a question of veracity, 

 for bird-lovers, like fishermen, tell straight 

 tales. But, were they Cow Buntings? 

 Major Bendire, who made a most ex- 

 haustive study of this family, thinks they 

 were probably Brewer's Blackbirds. For 

 a long while, I have been on the look- 

 out for a pair of the fledgelings, with a 

 view to making some investigations along 

 these lines. If Mr. Abbott is willing to 

 run the risk of being won over, let him 

 bring up a Cowbird as a pet. The Cow- 



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