APRIL BIRDS. 41 



birds are generally the victims, especially 

 the chipping-sparrow, Maryland yellow- 

 throat, and yellow-warbler. Generally the 

 strange egg is hatched by the foster 

 parents, and the young cow-bird is tended 

 with all the solicitude bestowed on the 

 rightful occupants of the nest. Some- 

 times, however, the birds thus imposed 

 upon abandon their nest altogether, es- 

 pecially if it contains no eggs of their own, 

 and occasionally they construct a two- 

 story nest, leaving the cow-bird's egg in 

 the basement. The thing that has always 

 struck me as most remarkable about the 

 cow-birds, though I have never seen it 

 mentioned in the books, is the wonderful 

 instinct that brings together into one flock 

 of their kindred these young fledglings, 

 all reared in different nests, by all sorts of 

 foster-parents. 



Walking deeper into the woods to 

 gather a bunch of the beautiful blood-root 

 flower (sanguinaria canadensis) which I 

 find in full bloom, my attention is arrested 

 by the loud hammering of the downy 



