98 COWBIRD. 



Cowbird: Molothrus ater. 



Length 8 inches. 



Head, neck and breast brown; rest of the plumage glossy 

 black with metallic reflections. 

 Female, dark gray, lighter below. 

 A rare permanent resident. 



In early May if a large gray bird is seen walking 

 about the lawn, and pecking in the grass like a 

 chicken, you may be sure it is the female Cowbird, 

 and that the home of some happy little songster in the 

 neighborhood is likely to be disturbed, if not ruined, 

 by her intrusion. Mr. Chapman, in his " Birds of 

 Eastern North America," writes strongly of this bird: 

 ' The Cowbird is an acknowledged villain and has no 

 standing in the bird world. English Sparrows, either 

 because they are not aware of the customs of New- 

 World bird life, or because of a possible and not un- 

 likely affinity, associate with him; but no self-respect- 

 ing American bird will be found in his company. . . . 

 In small flocks they visit both pasture and woodland, 

 and are given to following cattle, clustering about the 

 feet of the herd, presumably to feed on the insects 

 found there. They build no nest, and the females, 

 lacking every moral and maternal instinct, leave their 

 companions only long enough to deposit their eggs 

 in the nests of other and smaller birds. I can im- 

 agine no sight more strongly suggestive of a thor- 

 oughly despicable nature than a female Cowbird 

 sneaking through the trees or bushes in search of a 

 victim upon whom to shift the duties of motherhood. 



" The ill-gotten offspring are born with the Cowbird 

 character fully developed. They demand by far the 

 greater share of the food, and through gluttony or 

 mere size alone, starve or crowd out the rightful occu 



