BAY-WINGED COW-BIRD 113 



increased since his time, as it is now quite common 

 in the Plata district* 



The Bay-wings usually go in small flocks, num- 

 bering from ten to thirty individuals, and are not 

 migratory, but in winter they travel about a great 

 deal from place to place without extending their 

 journeys more than a few miles in any direction. 

 They are fond of coming about houses, and are 

 frequently seen pecking at the fresh meat hanging 

 out of doors ; and, like other birds of the same 

 tribe, feed chiefly on the ground. They spend a 

 great portion of their time on trees, are familiar with 

 man and inactive, and in their motions singularly 

 slow and deliberate. Their language is varied. 

 Curiosity or alarm is expressed by trilling notes, 

 and before quitting a tree all the birds of a flock 

 ceremoniously invite each other to fly, with long 

 clear notes, powerful enough to be heard a quarter 

 of a mile away. 



They also sing a great deal in all seasons, the song 

 being composed of soft, clear, rather sweet notes, 

 variously modulated, uttered in a leisurely manner, 

 and seeming to express a composed frame of mind, 

 all the birds in a flock singing in concert. During 

 the cold season the flock always finds some sheltered 

 sunny spot on the north side of a wood-pile or hedge, 

 where they spend several hours every day, sitting 

 still and singing in their usual quiet, soft style. 



Their extreme sociability affects their breeding 

 habits, for sometimes the flock does not break up in 

 spring, and several females lay in one nest together ; 



