36 



THE IOWA OKXITHOLOGIST. 



makes it a very diffiicult to find." 

 (C. R. Ball.j "Common from 

 first week in May untill second 

 ^veek in September. A pair to a 

 very larg-e meadow. I never 

 could find a nest in Iowa, but have 

 taken two in Ohio."( Lynds Jones. ) 



495. Molothrus ater. ( Bodd. i 



COWBIRD. 



Common summer resident, 

 throug-hout the state. "Arrives 

 about the middle of March, and 

 remains very late in Autmn. 

 This species is always found in 

 flocks. I have never found a 

 sing-'.e bird, but what some of its 

 kin I were n2ar b}^ unless it was 

 a youngs one. It is very common 

 at Burling-ton and Iowa City, 

 often associating- with other black 

 birds. " ( Paul Bartsch. ) Mr. Wm. 

 Savag-e says that it is a bird that 

 nature seems to have neglected in 

 its education, as it does not build 

 a nest, but imposes upon nearly 

 all of our smaller birds, from the 

 brown thrush to the smallest war- 

 bler. It lays its eggs in the nests 

 of other birds, never driving away 

 the rightful owner, nor taking 

 possession by force, but will creep 

 stealthly into the nest in the ab- 

 sence of the owner, and hastily 

 deposits an e^g, hurry back to 

 join its company with the most 

 obvious relief, and without the 

 slightest further concern for their 

 offspring. "I have found the eg-gs 

 of this species in the nests of the 



follow^ing birds: Bluebird, Wood 

 thrush, Yellow Warbler, Indig-o 

 Bunting-, Song Sparrow, Chipp- 

 ing Sparrow, Rose-breasted Gros- 

 beak, Scarlet Tanger, Redeyed 

 Vireo, W. MarylandYellowthroat, 

 Ovenbird, Cat bird, Bro^vn 

 Thrush. ''(J. Eugene Law^) Mr. 

 R. M. Anderson writes of taking- 

 its eggs from nests of the Red 

 winged blackbird, Least, Flycatch- 

 er, Yellow throated Vireo, Orch- 

 ard Oriole, and Dick cissel. "I 

 have found their eggs in the nests 

 of Prairie Horned Lark, Warbling- 

 Vireo, Bobolink and Barn Swal- 

 low." (Jno. V. Crone.) Other 

 than the above, I have found the 

 egg-s of this parasite in nests of 

 the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Blue- 

 winged Warbler, Lark Sparrow, 

 Field Sparrow, Towhee. Redstart 

 Robin, Pew^ee and Kingbird. 

 "The Ovenbird is the g-reatest 

 sufferer from this parasite. I 

 found an eg<^ in the nest of a 

 Pewee. The nest was under a 

 low^ bridge." (Lynds Jones.) Mr. 

 C. R. Ball thinks the Yellow 

 Warbler is imposed upon the mos. 

 The Cowbird cares little about the 

 location of a nest in which it lays 

 its eggs. I have found its eg-g-s 

 in nests in the trees, as often as 

 on the ground, and peculiar place 

 whice I found an egg was in a 

 Pewee's nest w^hich was placed in. 

 an old house, the only entrance to 

 which w^as through a broken 

 glass in the window. Strange 

 how lady Cowbird found the nest- 



