8o Bird Comrades 



was placed in a large cage with several other kinds of 

 young birds. At first he was quite docile, taking his 

 food from my hand and even allowing some of his 

 leathered companions to feed him; but in a few weeks 

 he grew so wild and manifested such a fierce desire for the 

 outdoor world that I was glad to carry him out to the 

 woods and give him his freedom. A young red-winged 

 blackbird and a pair of meadowlarks developed a differ- 

 ent disposition. 



The dwarf cowbird (Molothrus ater obscurus) is similar 

 to his relative just described, except that he is smaller 

 and his geographical range is more restricted. He is a 

 resident of Mexico, southern Texas, southwestern Arizona, 

 and southern California. His habits resemble those of 

 the common cowbird. Another bunting having almost 

 the same range, although a little more southerly, is the 

 red-eyed cowbird, which is larger and darker than*our 

 common cowbird and has the same parasitical habits. 



. In South America three species have been studied by 

 Mr. W. H. Hudson, who, in collaboration with Mr. P. L. 

 Sclater, has published a most valuable work on Argentine 

 ornithology. One of these is called the Argentine cow- 

 bird (Molothrus bonariensis) . It is a blue-blooded para- 

 site, and has been seen striking its beak into the eggs of 

 other birds and flying away with them. The males, it 

 is said, show little discrimination in pecking the eggs, for 

 they are just as likely to puncture the cowbird eggs as 

 those of other birds. Every egg in a nest is frequently 

 perforated in this way. These buntings lay a large 



