BLUE BIRD AND COW BIRD. 445 



ejecting them from their rightful tenements, although they are all, perhaps, inferior in 

 strength except the blue-bird, which, although of a mild as well as affectionate disposition, 

 makes a vigorous resistance. When assaulted, like most other tyrants and thieves, they 

 are cowardly, and accomplish by stealth what they cannot obtain by force. 



The deportment of the yellow-throat on this occasion is not to be omitted. She 

 returned while I waited near the spot, and darted into her nest, but returned immediately 

 and perched upon a bough near the place ; remained a minute or two, and entered it 

 again, returned, and disappeared. In ten minutes she returned with her mate. They 

 chattered with great agitation for half an hour, seeming to participate in the affront, and 

 then left the place. I believe all the birds thus intruded upon manifest more or less 

 concern at finding the eggs of a stranger in their own nests. Among others, the sparrow 

 is exceedingly punctilious ; for she sometimes chirps her complaints for a day or two, and 

 often deserts the premises altogether, even after she has deposited one or more eggs. 



The following anecdote will show not only that the Cow Troopial insinuates herself 

 slyly into the nests of other birds, but that even the most pacific of them will resent the 

 insult. A blue-bird had built for three successive seasons in the cavity of a mulberry-tree 

 near my dwelling. One day when the nest was nearly finished I discovered a female 

 Cow Bird perched upon a stake fence near, her eyes apparently fixed upon the 

 spot, while the builder was busy adjusting her nest. The moment she left it the 

 intruder dashed into it, and in five minutes returned and rushed off to her companions 

 with noisy delight, which she expressed by her gestures and notes. The blue-bird soon 

 returned, and entered the nest, but instantaneously fluttered back with much apparent 

 hesitation and perched upon the highest branch of the tree, uttering a rapidly repeated 

 note of complaint and resentment, which soon brought the male, who vociferated his 

 feelings by every demonstration of the most vindictive resentment. They entered the nest 

 together, and returned a second time, uttering their uninterrupted complaint for ten or 

 fifteen minutes. The male then dashed away to the neighbouring trees, as if in quest of 

 the offender, and fell upon a cat-bird, which he chastised severely and then attacked an 

 innocent sparrow that was chirping its ditty in a beech-tree. Notwithstanding the 

 affront was so passionately resented, I found the Cow Bird had laid an egg the next day. 

 Perhaps, a tenant less attached to a favourite spot would have acted more fastidiously by 

 deserting the premises altogether. In this instance also I determined to watch the 

 occurrences that were to follow ; but on one of my morning visits I found the common 

 enemy of the eggs and young of all the small birds had despoiled the nest a coluber was 

 found coiled at the bottom, and the eggs sucked. 



Agreeably to my observation, all the young birds destined to cherish the young Cow 

 Bird are of a mild and affectionate disposition, and it is not less remarkable that they 

 are all smaller than the intruder : the blue-bird is the only one nearly as large. This is 

 a good-natured creature, although it makes a vigorous defence When assaulted. The 

 yellow-throat, the sparrow, the goldfinch, the indigo-bird, and the blue-bird, are the only 

 kinds in whose nests I have found the eggs or young of the Cow Troopial, though 

 doubtless there are some others. 



What becomes of the eggs or young of the proprietors ? This is the most interesting 

 question that appertains to this subject. There must be some especial law of nature 

 which determines that the young of the proprietors are never to be found tenants in 

 common with the young Cow Bird. I shall offer the result of my own experience on this 

 point, and leave it to you and others better versed in the mysteries of nature than 'I am to 

 draw your own conclusions. Whatever theory may be adopted, the fact must remain the 

 same. Having discovered a sparrow's nest with five eggs, four and one, and the sparrow 

 sitting, I watched the nest daily. The egg of the Cow Bird occupied the centre, and those 

 of the sparrow were pushed a little up the side of the nest. Five days after the 

 discovery, I perceived the shell of the finch's egg broken, and the next the bird was 

 hatched. The sparrow returned while I was near the nest with her mouth full of food, 

 with which she fed the young Cow Bird with every possible mark of affection and 

 discovered the usual concern at my approach. On the succeeding day only two of the 



