COWBIRD 



1G18 



14 



PARTS OF A COW 



1. Head 



2. Ear 



3. Horn 



4. Forehead 



5. Eye 



6. Face 



7. Nostril 



8. Muzzle 



9. Cheek 



10. Withers 



11. Neck 



12. Throat 



13. Rump 



14. Pelvic arch 



15. Hip bone 



16. Loins 



17. Back 



18. Switch 



19. Tail 



20. Shoulder 



21. Dewlap 



22. Brisket 



34. Fore udder 



35. Milk vein 



36. Flank 



37. Dew claw 



38. Shank 



39. Hock 



40. Leg, or gaskin 



41. Twist 



42. Stifle 



43. Upper thigh 



products which man obtains from the living 

 cow are BUTTER, CHEESE and MILK, and the 

 industry of which these products are the result 

 is called DAIRYING. The CREAMERY is a com- 

 paratively modern feature in the production 

 of butter. From slaughtered cattle the prin- 

 cipal products are BEEF and LEATHER. All the 

 topics mentioned are presented in their alpha- 

 betical order in these volumes. 



COWBIRD, or COW BUNTING, a North 

 American bird which will not rear its own 

 young. Cowbirds are seen usually in small 

 flocks in the fields with cattle, hence the name. 

 The male birds, usually more numerous than 

 females, are about eight inches long, with 

 shining black feathers and brown heads. The 

 females are smaller and are dull brown. These 

 birds feed largely on insects and worms, some- 

 times on seeds and berries. 



The unnatural habit of the European cuckoo 

 of depositing its eggs in the nests of other 

 birds, thereby shifting its domestic responsi- 

 bilities, is also a habit of the cowbird. Al- 



23. Chest 



24. Hoof 



25. Ankle 



26. Knee 



27. Forearm 



28. Elbow 



29. Belly 



30. Side, or barrel 



31. Heart girth 



32. Teats 



33. Hind udder 



though a single bird lays several eggs, it never 

 deposits more than one in the same nest. The 

 nests of various species of small birds are 

 chosen, and the difference in the eggs is usu- 

 ally not noticed by the honest and happy own- 

 ers. The- young cowbird, when hatched, is 

 larger than the true nestlings and is more 

 greedy, hence it gets most of the food. Some- 

 times, however, if the intruding egg is recog- 

 nized, particularly in the nest of a yellow 

 warbler, the nest is sealed over and abandoned, 

 and another nest is built on top of the old 

 one. The habit of making no nest has earned 

 for the cowbird the name lazy bird. Its call 

 is a grating whistle, followed by a few sharp 

 notes. See CUCKOO. 



COW PARS 'NIP, a large, coarse, hog-fat- 

 tening plant of the parsley family. It grows 

 to a height of from three to six feet and bears 

 handsome, hairy leaves and large clusters of 

 small, white flowers. Though rather striking 

 in appearance, the cow parsnip becomes a 

 troublesome weed if allowed to grow in damp 



