COW BUNTING. jgf 



" bottom, and the ascent perpendicular; nevertheless the eggs 

 " were removed although filled with young ones; moreover, a 

 " young Cow-pen finch is as helpless as any other young bird, 

 " and so far from having the power of ejecting others from the 

 " nest, or even the eggs, that they are sometimes found on the 

 " ground under the nest, especially when the nest happens to 

 " be very small. I will not assert that the eggs of the builder of 

 " the nest are never hatched; but I can assert that I have never 

 " been able to find one instance to prove the affirmative. If all 

 "the eggs of both birds were to be hatched, in some cases the nest 

 " would not hold half of them; for instance, those of the Spar- 

 " row, or Yellow-bird. I will not assert that the supposititious 

 " egg is brought to perfection in less time than those of the bird 

 " to which the nest belongs; but from the fact stated, I am in- 

 " clined to adopt such an opinion. How are the eggs removed 

 " after the accouchement of the spurious occupant? By the pro- 

 " prietor of the nest unquestionably; for this is consistent with 

 " the rest of her economy. After the power of hatching them 

 " is taken away by her attention to the young stranger, the eggs 

 " would be only an incumbrance, and therefore instinct prompts 

 " her to remove them. I might add, that I have sometimes 

 " found the eggs of the Sparrow, in which were unmatured 

 " young ones, lying near the nest, containing a Cow-bird, and 

 " therefore I cannot resist this conclusion. Would the foster 

 " parent feed two species of young at the same time? I believe 

 " not. I have never seen an instance of any bird feeding the 

 " young of another, unless immediately after losing her own. 

 " I should think the sooty looking stranger would scarcely in- 

 " terest a mother while the cries of her own offspring, always 

 " intelligible, were to be heard. Should such a competition 

 " ever take place, I judge the stranger would be the sufferer, 

 " and probably the species soon become extinct. Why the lex 

 " naturae conservatrix should decide in favour of the surrep- 

 " titious progeny is not for me to determine. 



" As to the vocal powers of this bird, I believe its pretensions 

 " are very humble, none of its notes deserving the epithet mu- 



