Cowbird 



Some of the foster parents abandon their nests, or build 

 a second nest over the eggs, but usually the milk of human 

 kindness conquers, and the little bird does her best to 

 bring up the foundling. 



FLORENCE A. MERRIAM. Birds of Village and Field. 1 



In the spring the male may be seen perched in an exposed 

 position on a treetop, calling his long-drawn-out, glassy 

 kluck, tse-e-e. Later, when wooing the female, he utters 

 a curious, gurgling note, resembling the sound made by 

 pouring water rapidly from a bottle, and accompanying it 

 by motions which suggest extreme nausea. 



CHAPMAN. Bird Life. 22 



CREEPER, BROWN 



The brown creeper's plumage is one of Nature's most 

 successful feats of mimicry an exact counterfeit in feathers 

 of the brown-gray bark on which the bird lives. 



NELTJE BLANCHAN. Bird Neighbors. 23 



After watching him for several minutes one becomes 

 impressed with the thought that he has lost the only thing 

 in the world he ever cared for, and that his one object 

 in life is to find it. Ignoring you completely, with scarcely 

 a pause, he winds his way in a preoccupied, near-sighted 

 manner up a tree trunk. Having finally reached the top 

 of his spiral staircase, one might suppose he would rest 

 long enough to survey his surroundings, but like a bit 



55 



