COWBIRD. 



495. Molothrus ater. Ty$ inches. 



Male glossy greenish black with a brown head; 

 female and young dull gray. 



Groups of these birds are often seen walking sedate- 

 ly about among the cows in the pasture, hence their 

 name. They are the only birds that we have that 

 neither make a nest of their own nor care for their 

 young. The female slyly deposits her egg in the nest 

 of a smaller bird when the owner is absent, leaving 

 further care of it to its new owner. Warblers, Spar- 

 rows and Vireos seem to be most imposed upon in this 

 manner. 



Notes. A low chack, and by the male, a liquid, wiry 

 squeak accompanied by a spreading of the wings and 

 tail. 



Range. U. S. chiefly east of the Rockies, breeding 

 from the Gulf to Manitoba and New Brunswick; win- 

 ters in southern U. S. A sub-species, the Dwarf Cow- 

 bird (obscurus), is found in southwestern United 

 ^States; it is slightly smaller. 



