328 THE RED-WINGED STARLING. 



species. In this singular circiamstauce we see a striking provision ; for, did this egg require 

 a day or two more, instead of so mucli less, than those among which it has been dropped, 

 the young it contained would, in almost every instance, most inevitably perish, and thus, in a 

 few years, the whole species must become extinct. On the first appearance of the young Cow 

 Bunting, the parent being frequently obliged to leave the nest to provide sustenance for the 

 foundling, tlie business of incubation is thus, necessarily, interrupted ; the disposition to 

 continue it abates. Nature has now given a new direction to the zeal of the parent, and the 

 remaining eggs, within a week or more at most, generally disappear. In some instances, 

 indeed, they have been found on the ground, near or below the nest, but this is rarely the 

 case. I have never known more than one egg of the Cow Banting in the same nest. Tlie egg 

 is somewhat larger than that of the Bluebird, thickly sprinlded with grains of pale bro\vn on 

 a dirty white brown." 



The Cow Bird is pretty evenly distiibuted over the United States, from the Atlantic to the 

 Pacific, though it is rare in j\Iaine, and on the coast of the Pacific is not often seen. 



The Cow Bird derives its name from its habit of haunting the pasture-lands for the pur- 

 pose of feeding ujion the numerous flies and other insects that are always to be found in the 

 vicinity of cattle ; it is also known under the titles of Cow Bunting, and Cow-pen Bird. 



The coloring of the Cow Bii-d is pleasing, though not brilliant. The head and neck are of 

 a dark drab, and have a kind of silken gloss ; the whole of the upper surface and abdomen 

 are black, "shot " with green, and the upper part of the breast is dark violet. When young 

 it is altogethei" brown, and the darker tints make their appearance by degrees, showing tliem- 

 selves in patches here and there, which enlarge as the bii'd grows older, and finally overspread 

 the entire body. The length of the bird is about seven inches. 



The Meadow Lark {Stiirnella). Wilson says of this bird: "Though this well-known 

 species cannot boast of the powers of song which distinguishes that 'harbinger of day,' the 

 Skylark of Europe, yet in richness of plumage, as well as sweetness of voice, as far as his few 

 notes extend, he stands eminently his superior. He difi'ei's from the greater part of his tribe 

 in wanting the long, straight hind-claw, which is probably the reason why he has been classed 

 hy some late naturalists ^\-ith the Starlings. But in the particular form of his bill, and his 

 manners, plumage, mode and place of building his nest, jN'ature has clearly pointed out his 

 proper family. The species has a very extensive range, having myself found them in Upper 

 Canada, and in each of the States. Extensive and luxuriant prairies near St. Louis, Missouri, 

 abound \nt\\ them." 



These birds, after the breeding season is over, collect in flocks, but seldom fly in a close, 

 compact body. Their flight is something like that of the grouse, or partridge, laborious and 

 steady, sailing and renewing the I'apid action of the wings alternately. "WTien they alight on 

 trees or bushes, it is generally on the tops of the highest branches, whence they send forth a 

 long, clear, and somewhat melancholy note, that, in sweetness and tenderness of expression, is 

 not surpassed by any of our numerous warblers. This is sometimes followed by a kind of low, 

 rapid chattering, the particular caU of the female ; and again the clear and plaintive strain is 

 repeated, as before. 



Two varieties are noticed — one of them found in Mexico, and the other in the Western 

 States 



The Red-winged Starling is one of those birds which may either be looked upon as 

 most beneficial or most hurtful to the coasts in which they live, according to the light in which 

 they are viewed. 



From the farmer's point of view, it is one of his worst enemies, as it eats vast amounts of 

 grain, and assembles in such enormous flocks that the fields are black with their presence, and 

 the sun is obscured by the multitude of their wings. The soft immature grain of the Indian 

 corn is a favorite food with the Red -winged Starlings, and, according to Wilson, "reinforced 

 by numerous and daily flocks from all parts of the interior, they pour down on the low coun- 

 tries in prodigious multitudes. Ilence they are seen like vast clouds, wheeling and driving 



