1(30 



COW- BUNTING. 



tionahle to that of the bird" the European cuckoo's 

 is not. 



" So'extraordinary and unaccountable is this habit, 

 that I have sometimes thought it might not be 

 general among the whole of this species in every 

 situation, that the extreme heat of our summers, 

 though suitable enough for their young, might be too 

 much for the comfortable residence of their parents ; 

 that, therefore, in their way to the north, through our 

 climate, they were induced to secure suitable places 

 for their progeny ; and that, in the regions where 

 they more generally pass the summer, they might, 

 perhaps, build nests for themselves, and rear their 

 own young, like every other species around them. 

 On the other hand, when I consider that many of 

 them tarry here so late as the middle of June, drop- 

 ping their eggs, from time to time, into every con- 

 venient receptacle ; that in the States of Virginia, 

 Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, 

 they uniformly retain the same habits ; and, in short, 

 that in all these places I have never yet seen or 

 heard of their nests, reasoning from these facts, I 

 think I may safely conclude, that they never build 

 one ; and that in those remote northern regions their 

 manners are the same as we find them here. 



" What reason nature may have for this extra- 

 ordinary deviation from the general practice, is, I 

 confess, altogether beyond my comprehension. There 

 is nothing singular to be observed in the anatomical 

 structure of the bird that would seem to prevent or 

 render it incapable of incubation" (nor is there in 

 that of the European cuckoo). " The extreme heat 

 of our climate is probably one reason why, in the 

 months of July and August, they are rarely to be 

 seen here ; yet we have many other migratory birds 

 that regularly pass through P&insylvania to the 

 north, leaving a few residents behind them, which, 

 without exception, build their own nests and rear 

 their own young. This part of the country also 

 abounds with suitable food, such as they usually 

 subsist on. Many conjectures, indeed, might be 

 formed as to the probable cause, but all of them that 

 have occurred to me are unsatisfactory and incon- 

 sistent. Future and more numerous observations, 

 made with care, particularly in those countries where 

 they most usually pass the summer, may throw more 

 light on this matter, till then, we can only rest satis- 

 fied with the reality of the fact. 



" This species winters regularly in the lower parts 

 of North and South Carolina and Georgia ; I have 

 also met with them near Williamsburgh, and in 

 several other parts of Virginia. In January, 1809, I 

 observed strings of them for sale in the market of 

 Charlestown, South Carolina. They often frequent 

 com and rice fields, in company with the red-winged 

 troopials, but are more commonly found accompany- 

 ing the cattle, feeding on the seeds, worms, &c., which 

 they pick up amongst the fodder and from the excre- 

 ments of the cattle, which they scratch up for this 

 purpose"; which, be it remarked, is often the habit 

 of the European starling (Sturuus vulgaris). " Hence 

 they have pretty generally obtained the name of 

 Cow -pen-birds, Cow-Mrds, or Cow-blackbirds. By the 

 naturalists of Europe they have hitherto been classed 

 with the finches, though improperly, as they have no 

 family resemblance to that tribe sufficient to justify 

 that arrangement," &c. 



" Respecting this extraordinary bird," says Wilson, 

 " I have received communications from various 



quarters, all corroborative of the foregoing particulars. 

 Among these is a letter from Dr. Potter of Baltimore, 

 which, as it contains some new and interesting facts, 

 and several amusing incidents, I shall, with pleasure, 

 lay before the reader, apologising to the obliging- 

 writer for a few unimportant omissions which have 

 been anticipated in the preceding pages." The limits, 

 however, of this Cyclopaedia will not. allow us to 

 transcribe the whole of this highly interesting com- 

 munication ; we will select only a few of the more 

 important facts, but we heartily recommend the reader 

 to peruse the original, the details of which evince a 

 habit of patient investigation, and a degree of philo- 

 sophic caution, which naturalists in general would do 

 well to imitate. 



" The cow-pen finch differs, moreover," says the 

 writer, "in another respect, from all the birds with 

 which I am acquainted. After an observance of many 

 years, I could never discover anything like pairing 

 or a mutual attachment between the sexes. Even in 

 the season of love, when other birds are separated 

 into pairs, and occupied in the endearing office of 

 providing a receptacle for their offspring, these birds 

 arc seen feeding in odd as well as even numbers, from 

 one to twenty, and discovering no more disposition 

 towards perpetuating their species than birds of any 

 other species at other seasons, excepting a promiscu- 

 ous concubinage which pervades the whole tribe." 

 The same obtains in the European cuckoo. " When 

 the female separates from the company, her departure 

 is not noticed ; no gallant partner accompanies her, 

 nor manifests any solicitude in her absence ; nor is 

 her return greeted with that congratulatory tender- 

 ness that so eminently characterises the males of other 

 birds. The male proffers the suine civilities to any 

 female indiscriminately, and they are reciprocated 

 accordingly, without exciting either resentment or 

 jealousy in any of the party. This want of sexual 

 attachment is not inconsistent with the general eco- 

 nomy of this singular bird ; for, as they are neither 

 their own architects nor nurse of their own young, 

 the degree of attachment thut governs others would 

 be superfluous. * 



" By a minute attention to a number of these birds 

 when they feed in a particular field in the laying 

 season, the deportment of the female, when the time 

 of laying draws near, becomes particularly interesting. 

 She deserts her associates, assumes a drooping, sickly 

 aspect, and perches upon some eminence where she 

 can reconnoitre the operations of other birds in the 

 process of nidification. If a discovery suitable to her 

 purpose cannot be made from her stand, she becomes 

 more restless, and is seen flitting from tree to tree, till 

 a place of deposit can be found. I once had an 

 opportunity of witnessing a scene of this sort, which 

 I cannot forbear to relate : Seeing a female prying 

 into a bunch of bushes in search of a nest, I deter- 

 mined to see the result, if practicable ; and knowing 

 how easily they are disconcerted by the near approach 

 of man, I mounted my horse and proceeded slowly, 

 sometimes seeing and sometimes losing sight of her, 

 till I had travelled nearly two miles along the margin 

 of a creek. She entered every thick place, prying 

 with the utmost scrutiny into places where the small 

 birds usually build, and at last darted suddenly into a 

 thick copse of alders and briers, where she remained 

 five or six minutes, when she returned, soaring above 

 the underwood, to the company she had left feeding 

 in the field. Upon entering the covert, I found the 



