IN THE HEMLOCKS. 81 



in the nests of others, and thus shirk the re- 

 sponsibility of rearing its own young. The 

 cow-buntings always resort to this cunning 

 trick ; and when one reflects upon their 

 numbers, it is evident that these little trage- 

 dies are quite frequent. In Europe the par- 

 allel case is that of the cuckoo, and occasion- 

 ally our own cuckoo imposes upon a robin 

 or a thrush in the same manner. The cow- 

 bunting seems to have no conscience about 

 the matter, and, so far as I have observed, 

 invariably selects the nest of a bird smaller 

 than itself. Its egg is usually the first to 

 hatch; its young overreaches all the rest 

 when food is brought; it grows with great 

 rapidity, spreads and fills the nest, and the 

 starved and crowded occupants soon perish, 

 when the parent bird removes their dead 

 bodies, giving its whole energy and care to 

 the foster-child. 



The warblers and smaller fly-catchers are 

 generally the sufferers, though I sometimes 

 see the slate-colored snow-bird unconsciously 

 duped in like manner ; and the other day, in 

 a tall tree in the woods, I discovered the 

 black-throated green-backed warbler devot- 

 ing itself to this dusky, overgrown found- 

 ling. An old farmer to whom I pointed out 



