592 REPORT OF XATK^XAL MUSEUM, 1893. 



NecTcar, in April, 1880, a Cowbiid tlew ou board, fully 1,000 miles east 

 of Newfoundland, and was captured. 



The Cowbird ordinarily arrives in good-sized flocks in the middle 

 States from its winter home in the south, during the last half of March ; 

 in the more northern States, rarely before the first week in April, more 

 frequently after the middle of this month, the males predominating in 

 numbers over the more plainly colored females, and generally preceding 

 them several days. Soon after, these flocks commence to break up and 

 scatter in small companies of from G to 12 individuals and disperse gen- 

 erally over the country. It prefers more or less cultivated districts, 

 river valleys, etc., where other birds are abundant, and rarely penetrates 

 far into heavily timbered sections in mountainous regions, excepting in 

 Colorado, where it has been met with at altitudes up to 8,000 feet. 



The food of the Cowbird consists principally of vegetable matter, 

 such as seeds of different kinds of noxious weeds, like ragweed, smart- 

 weed, foxtail or pigeon grass, wild rice and the smaller species of 

 grains, berries of diflerent kinds, as well as of grasshoppers, beetles, 

 ticks, flies, and other insects, worms, etc., and in this respect it does 

 perhaps more good than harm. 



While the Cowbird is fairly common in most of the States east of 

 the Mississippi River, it is far more noticeable in the regions west of 

 this stream, although perhaps not much more abundant. In the prairie 

 States this is especially the case, and one will rarely see a bunch of 

 cattle there without an attending flock of Cowbirds, who perch on their 

 backs searching for parasites, or follow them along on the ground hunt- 

 ing for suitable food among their droppings. They generally act in 

 concert; when one settles on the ground the others follow shortly 

 afterwards, and let one start to fly the remainder take wing also. Their 

 flight resembles that of the Red-winged Blackbird. When the nesting 

 season approaches the males become very demonstrative in their actions 

 toward the females, but do not appear to mind the attentions paid by 

 other males to the same female, as other birds usually do, and rarely 

 fight for her possession. Free lovers as they are, they do not object 

 to such trifles. 



At this time of the year several males nuiy frequently be seen, while 

 perched on some fence rail, or the limb of a tree, with the feathers of 

 their throats raised, tails spread, and wings trailing, each endeavoring 

 to pour out his choicest song to one of his protective mates, which con- 

 sists of various unreproducable guttural sounds uttered while all the 

 feathers are pufl'ed out, the head lowered, and evidently produced only 

 by considerable ettbrt on the part of the performer. One of their call 

 notes sounds somewhat like "' spreele," others resemble the various 

 squeaks of the Red-winged Blackbird, and all are difficult to repro- 

 duce on paper. 



It IS a well-known fact that the Cowbird is a parasite, building no 

 nest, but inflicting its eggs usually ou smaller birds, leaving to them 



