CO WBIRD. 107 



his time among the cattle in the pastures, so earn- 

 ing his name. 



With the cowbird, our pigeon-hole for " black- 

 birds, orioles, etc.," No. 3, is as full as we shall 

 make it. There are seven birds in it the bobo- 

 link, cowbird, red- winged blackbird, meadow-lark, 

 crow blackbird, and oriole. Comparing them for 

 a moment with the lower orders of birds we put 

 away in the drawer the chimney swift, par- 

 tridge, humming-bird, cuckoo, woodpeckers, and 

 kingfisher ; and then again with the other families 

 of perching birds we have had the flycatchers 

 of No. 1, the finches and sparrows of No. 4, the 

 barn swallow from No. 6, and the chickadee and 

 nuthatch from the " nuthatches and tits " of No. 

 12, we shall see how clearly they stand out as a 

 group. 



Perhaps it will be well to summarize their com- 

 mon characteristics. 



BLACKBIKDS, ORIOLES, etc. (Pigeon-hole No. 3.) 



Birds that live in the meadows. 



Meadow-lark. 



Bobolink. 



Birds with much black in plumage. (Compare 

 with sparrows.) 



Crow blackbird. 



Red-winged blackbird. 



Cowbird. 



Bobolink. 



Oriole. 



