SONG-BIRDS. Cowbird 



They cross and turn, and in and out, and down the middle and wheel 



about, 



With a ' Phew, shew, Wadolincon ; listen to me, Bobolincon ! 

 Happy's the wooing that's speedily doing, that's speedily doing, 

 That's merry and over with the bloom of the clover; 

 Bobolincon, Wadolincon, Winterseeble, follow, follow me ! ' " 



The prose writers vie with the poets in singing the Bobo- 

 link's praises, their own words turning to music under his 

 spell. Listen to what Thoreau says of the song: "It is 

 as if he [the bird] touched his harp with a vase of liquid 

 melody, and when he lifted it out the notes fell like bubbles 

 from the strings." ..." away he launches, and the meadow 

 is all bespattered with melody." 



What matters it to us who hear his song in the north if 

 the singer, in his migrations, is at war with the rice-growers 

 of warmer regions ? Here he is the peerless musician, whom 

 no one should wittingly destroy; and yet we buy "Reed- 

 birds, four on a skewer, for 50 cents." 



Cowlbird : Molothrus ater. 



PLATE 39. FIG. 1. 



Length: 7.50-8 inches. 



Male : Head, throat, and shoulders glistening dark brown ; all other 

 parts iridescent black. Bill dark brown ; feet rusty black. A 

 walker. 



Female : Dull, brownish gray. 



Song : A whistle and a few short, rasping notes. Call note, " Cluck- 

 see ! " 



Season : March to November ; occasionally winters. 



Breeds : Through range. 



Nest : Builds none, but lays its eggs at random in the nests of other 

 birds, usually choosing those of species smaller than itself. 



Eggs : Almost an inch long, white, speckled with brown and various 

 shades of gray. 



Range : United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific ; north into 

 southern British America ; south, in winter, into Mexico. 



The Cowbird is the pariah of bird-dom, the exception 

 that proves the rule of marital fidelity and good housekeep- 

 ing. It is the bird that you see so frequently in pastures, 

 167 



