A FEATHERED PARASITE, 825 



ground builders the cowbird seems to have little fear of overdoing 

 her imposition. Major Bendire says that he once found the nest 

 of an ovenbird which contained seven cowbird's eggs and only one 

 of the little owner's. 



If parasitism were the only crime of the cowbird one would not 

 feel so much disposed to put her into the avian Newgate Calendar; 

 but she not only inflicts her own eggs upon her innocent victims, 

 but often actually tosses their eggs out of the nests in order to make 

 room for her own. Nor is that all; she will sometimes puncture 

 the eggs of the owners to prevent their hatching, and thus increase 

 the chances of her own offspring. Whether this is done with her 

 beak or her claws is still an open question, Major Bendire inclining 

 to the belief that it is done with the claws. 



Her finesse is still further to be seen in the fact that she usually 

 selects some bird for a victim that is smaller than herself, so that 

 when her young hopefuls begin to grow they will be able to crowd 

 or starve out the true heirs of the family. In this way it is thought 

 that many a brood comes to an untimely end, the foster parents hav- 

 ing no means of replacing their own little ones when they have been 

 ejected from the nest. However, I am disposed to think that the 

 cowbird's impositions are not usually so destructive as some ob- 

 servers are inclined to believe. I once found a bush sparrow's nest 

 containing one cowbird and four little sparrows, all of which were 

 in a thriving condition. The sparrows were so well fed and active 

 that as soon as I touched the nest they sprang, with loud chirping, 

 over the rim of their cottage and scuttled away through the grass. 

 They were certainly strong and healthy, in spite of the presence 

 of their big foster brother. Before they flitted away I had time 

 to notice how the little family were disposed. The cowbird was 

 squatted in the center of the nest, while his little brothers and 

 sisters were ranged around him, partly covering him and no doubt 

 keeping him snug and warm. They were further advanced than 

 he, for while they scrambled from the nest, he could do nothing but 

 snuggle close to the bottom of the cup, where he was at my mercy. 



A wood thrush's nest that I found contained two young thrushes 

 and two buntings. All of them were about half fledged. Being 

 of nearly the same size, the queerly assorted bantlings lived in ap- 

 parent peace in their narrow quarters. I watched them at frequent 

 intervals, but saw no attempts on the part of the foundlings to crowd 

 out their fellow-nestlings. The cowbirds were the first to leave the 

 roof -tree. Thus it appears that the intrusion of the cowbird's eggs 

 does not always mean disaster to the real offspring of the brooding 

 family, but of course it always prevents the laying of the full com- 

 plement of eggs by the builders themselves. 



