A Catalogue of Birds obtained in Navarro County, Texas. 211 



where they do good service by consuming the seeds of these and 

 many other noxious weeds, notably those of the knot grass. 

 During the summer they feed almost exclusively on grasshoppers 

 and other insects. 



MoLOTHRUS ATER (Bodd.) Cow Bird. — This curious species, in 

 which the parental instinct, so strong in most birds, seems to be 

 entirely undeveloped, is found in our district at all seasons of the 

 year, but is infinitely more numerous during the colder months ; 

 in fact, they are quite scarce in summer, at which time they move 

 about in small flocks, frequenting open glades and roads in thinly 

 wooded localities ; but, when about to lay, the female separates 

 herself from the flock and seeks for a suitable nest in which to 

 deposit her Qgg, rejoining the flock when this is accomplished. 

 Early in September they begin to appear in flocks in the open 

 districts, the female and young preceding their mates by some 

 days, but, after the arrival of the latter, the different bands unite 

 to form mixed flocks of almost incredible numbers; and during 

 the whole of the winter, every herd of cattle has its accompanying 

 flock, the members of which run fearlessly about among their 

 feet, eagerly picking uj) the insects roused by their trampling, 

 or attracted by their bodies, and alighting often in numbers on 

 their backs, where they pick off" the ticks with which they are 

 infested, thus, at the same time, ministering to their own wants 

 and to the comfort of the cattle. In hard weather they sometimes 

 take shelter in the dense timber along the rivers, feeding on the 

 berries of the cedar and green brier. The only Qgg which I found, 

 was laid in a nest of Passerina ciris before any of the eggs of the 

 finch had been deposited, and the nest was at once deserted. 



Xanthocephalus icterocephalus (Bonap.) Yellow-headed 

 Blackbird. — A. spring migrant in small numbers, passing north- 

 ward in company with cowbirds and grakles, during the latter 

 half of April and beginning of May. They frequent large farms 

 on the prairie and places where the ground is bare, such as the 

 neighbourhood of villages, where the grass has been worn away, 

 and it is rare to see more than three or four in the same place. 

 The stomachs of those which I examined were crammed with 

 grasshoppers. 



AGELiEUS phceniceus (Linn.) Red and Buff-shouldered Black- 

 bird. — The red-winged starling is one of the most abundant birds 



