IIO CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY. [Bull. 



Molothrus ater ater (Boddaert). Cowbird. 



A common summer resident from April to November; occa- 

 sionally lingers to January and probably winters. 



Earliest record. New Haven, March 19, 1901 ; Feb. 20, 1887 

 (L. B. W.) ; Portland, March 21, 1910. 



Latest record. New Haven, Dec. i, 1903; Portland, Oct. 22, 

 1877. 



Winter records. Jan. 15, 1874, Jan. 16, 1875 (Grinnell) j 1 

 Feb., 1886, Woodbridge (Augur) ; Jan. u, 1887, East Hartford 

 (W. E. T.) ; Jan. 17, 1889, Bridgeport (Eames) ; Dec. n, 1894, 

 Dec. 13, 1895, Portland (J. H. S.) ; Dec. 25, 1901, Jan. 10, 1902, 

 North Haven (Ludington, in coll. of L. B. B.) ; Dec. 26, 1904, 

 Stratford (H. W. B. and J. C. A. M.). 



Nest. The Cowbird does not build a nest, but deposits its 

 egg or eggs in the nest of another and usually smaller species, 

 the Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow Warbler, and Oven-bird being most 

 frequently selected. 



The following table shows the distribution of the eggs as re- 

 corded by J. H. S. and L. B. B. in 119 nests examined. The 

 numbers in the three columns are the numbers of nests of the 

 species named containing, respectively, one, two, and three eggs 

 of the Cowbird. 



Red-eyed Vireo 16 4 



Yellow Warbler 16 I 



Oven-bird n 2 2 



Wilson's Thrush 7 



Redstart 6 I 



Indigo Bunting 5 I 



Field Sparrow 5 



Phoebe 3 I 



Maryland Yellow-throat 3 I 



Song Sparrow 3 2 



Yellow-throated Vireo 3 



Chestnut-sided Warbler 3 



Prairie Warbler 3 



Purple Finch 2 



Scarlet Tanager 2 , 



1 Merriam, Birds of Conn., p. 45. 



