THE IOWA OKNITHOLOGIST. 



This Species usually lays its egg 

 before the owner of the nest has 

 laid hers, especially before the 

 owner has completed laying-. 

 However the Yellow warbler if 

 thus imposed upon before she has 

 laid an}^ of her own eg- g^s, just adds 

 another story to her nest thus 

 burying- the forieg-n eg-g- so deeply 

 as fo suffer no inconvenience from 

 it. Mr. W. A. Bryan writes that 

 he has in his collection a nest of 

 Triall's Flycatcher containing- an 

 eg-g- of this species neatly covered 

 up in the floor of the nest. Wil- 

 sol and Audubon, as well as the 

 earlier Ornitholog-ists in g-eneral, 

 w^ere mistaken in saying- that no 

 nest contained more than one of 

 the Cowbird's eggs. I have found 

 as many as five in the Towhee's 

 nest, which also contained three 

 of the owner's, and Wm. Savag-e 

 found six in the nest of a Water 

 Thrush with two of the Thrush's 

 eg-g-s. Mr. C. R. Ball writes that 

 he finds two or three in the same 

 nest more often than only one. 

 It is peculiar to note that the eg-g-s 

 of this bird are subject to g-reat 

 variation in the size and mark- 

 ing's, and that when found in the 

 nests of such birds as the Towhee 

 Brown Thrush and Prairie Horn- 

 ed Lark, it is often quite difficult 

 to readily disting-uish one from 

 the other. I have found specimens 

 that vary from .90x.78 to .75x.64, 

 the larg-est eg-g- was found in a 

 Towhee's nest, the smallest in the 

 nest of a Blue-g-ray Gnatcatcher. 



I find .86X.69 to be about the 

 averag-e size. This species is not 

 very musical, yet the male during- 

 morning- hours, when perched up 

 en Ihetcpmcst branch besides his 

 mate or mates — for he is a polyg- 

 amist and usually has two or three 

 little ladies in faded black beside 

 him — does his best to articulate 

 the few musical notes which he 

 possesses, but what a bung-le he 

 makes of it, for he seems literally 

 to vomit them up. The Cowbird 

 seems to have little fear of man 

 or beast. "When a boy I used to 

 herd cattle and have frequently 

 seen them alig-ht on the backs of 

 the cattle. They were very tame 

 for I killed several with my whip. " 

 (,Jno. V. Cro^ie.) 



497. Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. 

 (Bonap.) 



YELLOW HEADED 

 BLACKBIRD. 



Common in favorite localities, 

 more plentiful in the northern 

 part of the state. "Quite rare 

 near Burling-ton, Iowa. I know 

 of only two specimens being- taken 

 near there, one of them adorns my 

 collection now." (Paul Bartsch. ) 

 "Have never seen this specimen 

 but twice in Mahaska Co., and 

 then it was in company with the 

 Red wing-ed Blackbirds. Am in- 

 formed by old settlers that form- 

 erly they were common here. "(W. 

 A.Bryan.) "It is noticeable that 

 this species nests in certain 



