i8o STARLINGS. 



the ground less care is necessary, and fewer materials are em- 

 ployed, the nest being much lighter and more simple : the lining 

 is of fine bent. The female deposits five eggs. 



The Cow-pen Bird, or Cow Bunting; {MolotJwus* bonaricnsis), like 

 our cuckoo, is remarkable for its habit of depositing its eggs in the nest of some 

 other bird. 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 this species is due to its habit of frequenting the enclosures 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 those of numerous 



Fiu. 95.— The Capfeu 'J'kuui'-Uikd {Chrysoimis/roiitalis). 



species of small birds. The 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 cardinal grosbeak, and the latter, as soon as 



* ^o\c7i', molein, to transplant : from the habit of depositing its eggs in the nests of 

 other birds. 



