AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 199 



COWBIRD, 



A. O. U. No. 495. (Molothrus ater> 



RANGE. 



The whole of the United States and southern Canada. South in win- 

 ter into Mexico. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Length, 7.5 in.; extent, 13.5 in.; tail, about 3 in. 



Adult male. Entire body, above and below, wings and tail, lustrous- 

 greenish black with blue and purple reflections. Head and neck all 

 around a smoky brown with few reflections. Bill and feet black. Eyes 

 brown. 



Female. A plain grayish bird nearly uniform in color but a trifle 

 lighter below and the feathers have darker shafts, thus giving it the 

 appearance of being streaked. Bill and feet brownish. The young 

 are similar to the female except that the feathers have light edgings, 

 thus giving them a mottled appearance. The female is somewhat 

 smaller than the male. 



DWARF COWBIRD. 



A. O. U. No. 495a. (Molothrus ater obscurus.) 



This variety is identical with the common Cowbird except in the mat- 

 ter of size, it being somewhat smaller. The two varieties spend the 

 winter in Mexico together but when migration time comes the common 

 Cowbird is supposed to come north while the dwarf variety spends the 

 summer in Texas and Arizona. Their habits are precisely alike and 

 the eggs are similar with the exception that the dwarf variety will aver- 

 age smaller. 



NEST AND EGGS. 



The Cowbird builds no nest of its own but lays single eggs in the 

 nests of other birds generally choosing those that are smaller than itself. 

 Just how many eggs each bird lays is not known but they probably lay 

 four or five in as many nests. Frequently more than one &zz of this 

 specie is found in a nest of some other bird. They are probably in this 

 case laid by a number of Cowbirds, as it is generally believed that they 

 will lay but one egg in a single nest. 



