188 



VEIITEBIIATA. 



Bird, tlu' S<»ii/-Sj)(trroii\ llio Mvmhur- [,<nk-, Vellow Warbler, Blue-Graj/ Fltj-Catchcr, Golden- 

 crowned Thrush, ami Wilsoii\^ Thrush. W'licii tlie t'oiii;ilc is disposed to lay, she steals through 

 the l>iishcs and KratiiMcs till she finds the nest that suits her; she then slyly and quickly deposits 

 her eu<;, and iMiniediateiy proceeds back to the flock. The strange agg is often a subject of 

 wonder or surprise to the lawfid proprietor of the nest; sometimes it causes a desertion of the 

 j)reniises; more commonly, however, it is duly hatched, and the young one carefully reared. 

 Sometimes the athletic parasite stifles the legitin)ate oft'spring, in which case the lifeless remains 

 are removed bv the parents, who yet — unconscious of the cause of the mischief — continue to feed 

 and cherish it as their own child. AVlien fully fledged, the young bird departs and skulks about 

 for a time, when at last, guided by instinct, he joins the flock of his kith and kin. They are now- 

 seen m small parties around the cattle m the cow-pen or the pastures, feeding on the seeds and 

 worms which they pick up among the fodder or the excrements of these domestic animals. They 

 seem to liave an aflinity with the red-winged blackbirds, and often large flocks of the two kinds 

 may be seen together, sometimes feeding in the fields of corn and rice, and sometimes wheeling 

 and windinjx in blackenincj masses tlirouo;li the air. The cow-blackbird has no sonc, and nos- 

 sesses few attractive qualities ; in confinement it utters a low, guttural splutter, intended for music, 

 at the same time strutting before the spectator with the aff"ected airs of a turkey-cock. 



THE BOBLINK. 



Genus DOLYCHOXIX : Dolychonix. — This includes the D. orizivorns, one of our most curi- 

 ous, eccentric, and amusing birds, the harlequin of the meadows, known at the north by the 

 names of Boblixk, or Bob-o'-lixk, or Bob-o'-lixcolx, to which may be added the various titles 

 of Bced-BIrd, Rice-Bird, Rice-Buntincj, May-Bird, Mcadoio-Bird, American Ortolan, Butter- 

 Bird, and Skunk-Blackhi)-d. It is six and a half inches long; color black; head and rump 

 white, tinged with yellow. This is the full spring costume of the male ; the female is brownish 

 black and yellow above, dull yellow beneath. This is nearly the appearance of the young birds, 

 and also of the male in autumn. These birds migrate northward in spring, proceeding by night, 

 and retire in October, flying by day. They feed on crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, spiders, and 

 seeds of various kinds, particularly those of grasses. Their range is from Mexico to Canada. The 

 eggs, four or five in number, are bluish-white, spotted, and placed in a nest on the ground, usu- 

 ally in the meadows. The "song of the male," says Wilson, "while the female is sitting, is sin- 

 gular and very agreeable. Mounting and hovering on wing, at a small height above the field, 

 he chants out such a jingling medley of short, variable notes, uttered with such seeming confu- 

 sion and rapidity, and continued for a considerable time, that it appears as if half a dozen birds 



