The Birds and Poets 95 



The cowbirds are and ought to be outcasts in the 

 bird kingdom. They are outlaws and polygamists. 

 They travel about in groups of four or five and 

 never build a nest of their own. When a female 

 bird desires to deposit an egg, she leaves her com- 

 panions only long enough to seek out a convenient 

 nest of some other bird, where she lays her egg, and 

 then rejoins her companions, basely shirking her 

 duty and the responsibilities of motherhood, which 

 she shoulders upon some generous and unsuspect- 

 ing sparrow, towhee or other bird who knows no 

 better than to raise the young orphan with all the 

 care, affection and zeal which she bestows upon 

 her own legitimate offspring. Oftimes the young 

 cowbirds being twice the size of the other birds, 

 crowd them out of the nest, and devour most of the 

 food brought by the parent birds, to the very seri- 

 ous disadvantage of the young birds who are 

 entitled to the exclusive care and attention of their 

 parents. As stated, the young cowbirds partake of 

 the parasitic character of their unfaithful natural 

 parents, and compel their foster mother to feed 

 them long after they are abundantly able to care 

 for themselves and the other young birds have left 

 the nest to shift for themselves. By this circum- 

 stance the identity of the big clumsy young bird so 

 vigorously clamoring for food was quickly and 

 definitely established. 



I know of no poem dedicated to this ignoble 

 bird and I would not quote it if I did. 



It was an interesting adventure, however, and 



