THE INSTINCT OF THE COWBIRD 



birds' nests, instead of building nests for 

 themselves ? 



How did the cowbird acquire this unnatural 

 habit? 



Writers on the subject usually answer the 

 first question by the term " stupidity," and the 

 other three by the word " instinct." 



In all my life I have never found the birds 

 stupid. They are as intelligent as to the re- 

 quirements of bird life as man is as to the 

 requirements of human life. 



The theory of instinct is only a dream of 

 the uninitiated. Nature's children are never 

 troubled by such nightmares. 



The most of our bird books have the ear- 

 marks of the library. An author may be 

 familiar with a few birds studied afield, but 

 the greater number are studied in the library. 

 Take the cowbird as an example. One author 

 after another rings in the same old chestnut 

 about the disreputable bird that lays its eggs 

 in other birds' nests and deserts its offspring. 

 These authors wind up by calling attention 

 to the wonderful instinct that causes the young 

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