102 Mr. Peabody on the ; ys 
ing various ineffectual efforts to strike a tune, in ac- 
knowledgment of the kindness of its benefactor. 
These birds are named from their habit of follow-. 
ing cattle, to which they are of service, by catching 
the insects that molest them. They come with the 
spring, and leave us in October, in company with 
their cousins, the red-wings, with which they asso- 
ciate very little while here, perhaps because they 
are remarkable for that philoprogenitiveness in which 
the cow-birds are so shamefully wanting. 
The Rice Bontine, Icterus agripennis, which has 
received its name from the wild-rice, on which it 
feeds, is much better known among us by the name 
of bob-o-link, a word resembling its notes, some of 
which are wonderfully sweet. It is not among the 
pioneers of spring, but whenever it arrives from the 
south, it is warmly welcomed, and gives great ani- 
mation to the meadows by its parti-colored dress, its 
busy chatter, and its queer and lively motions. Here, 
it does very little injury to the grain, though it is 
said to be troublesome in the southern states. On 
the contrary, it is incessantly employed in extermi- 
nating crickets, grasshoppers, and ground-spiders, 
creatures which are especially beholden to those 
who make war on this beautiful bird. But it is 
not nearly so much persecuted in New England 4s 
in other parts of the country, where it is regarded 
as delicious food and sent to the markets in greàt 
numbers. How far to the south they go on their 
return, is not certainly known; it is thought, that 
many of ihem pass the winter in the West 
islands. 
