424 Brewer^s Reinarks on 



The last position which Mr. Ord combats is, that " the 

 birds selected by the cow-bunting, are always smaller 

 than herself." In support of his views on this subject 

 he mentions, that he twice found the parasite in the nest 

 of the wood thrush, which bird is larger than the troopial. 

 The eggs were in these instances set upon and hatched 

 by the owners of the respective nests. The credit of the 

 discovery of this fact is undoubtedly due to Mr. Ord. The 

 scientific world is indebted to him so far as this goes, but 

 noTarther. For the rule is not the less a general one, 

 because exceptions to it have been found. For, while 

 the cow-troopial's egg is frequently detected in the nests 

 of no less than fifteen difierent species, all of which are 

 smaller than that bird, it has been thus far discovered In 

 the nest of but one solitary species which is of a larger 

 size, and that in only two instances. 



On this subject Audubpn has fallen into a singular, and 

 for him, unusual error. He says, " it is also a very remark- 

 able circumstance, that although the cow-bird is larger 

 than the species in the nest of which it deposits its eggs, 

 the eggs themselves are not much superior in size to thpse 

 of their intended foster-parents." " If this were the fact, 

 it would justly be entitled to the epithet remarkable," 

 says Mr. Ord. In his views on this point, Mr. Ord is 

 undoubtedly correct, and Audubon singularly mistaken. 

 We are willing to award to the former all the credit that 

 is his due, for correcting this mistake. But if Mr. Ord had 

 contented himself with simply pointing out the mistake, 

 instead of descending and disgracing the pages of his 

 paper by bestowing upon Audubon the contemptuous 

 epithet of "sagacious naturalist;" instead of exulting at, 

 and ridiculing the overthrow of the scheme of " adapta- 

 tion of means to ends which the Author of Birds of 



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