COWBIRD. 105 
Overhead the twigs, snow-outlined, made exqui- 
site filigree against the pale blue sky. But sud- 
denly, as the woods seemed to be holding its breath, 
the yank of the nuthatch came first from one tree 
and then another. A family of them were looking 
for their dinner in the white forest. If the snow 
covered the upper side of a branch, they ran along 
upside-down on the under side; if the south side 
. of a tree trunk was white, they walked, head down, 
on the north side; and there, too, was the little 
drummer — a downy woodpecker, flickering from 
tree to tree — even here, the merry band was find- 
ing a place for itself in nature. As I passed on, 
fainter and fainter came the note of the nuthatch. 
I looked back through the woods; the blue sky 
was veiled by snow clouds, but behind them shone 
the southern sun, pervading them with that won- 
drous radiance of white light that only a winter 
sky can show. 
X XIX. 
COWBIRD. 
THE cowbird is one of the smaller blackbirds. 
The male has an iridescent body and purplish- 
brown head and neck. The female has no bril- 
liant coloring, and is decidedly dingy in appear- 
ance. 
About the size of the kingbird, the cowbird im- 
