494 COW-PEN BIRD. 



It also is a seed, but it gives rise to a very different object. Fostered by 

 the warmth imparted by the parent bird, the germ which it contains 

 swells into life, and at length bursting its fragile enclosure, comes totter- 

 ing into existence. To sustain the life and contribute to the development 

 of this helpless being, the mother issues in quest of food, which she care- 

 fully places in its open throat. Day after day it acquires new develop- 

 ment under the fostering care of its nurse, until at length, invested with 

 all the powers which Nature intended to bestow upon it, it spreads its 

 pinions to the breeze, and sallies forth to perform the many offices for 

 which it is destined. 



How often have I watched over the little bird in its nest, and marked 

 the changes which day after day it exhibited : the unfolding of its first 

 scanty covering of down, the sprouting of its plumelets, the general en- 

 largement of all its parts ! With what pleasure have I viewed the de- 

 velopment of its colouring and the early manifestations of its future 

 habits ! 



Amid these wonderful operations of Nature, there is one which has 

 occasionally engaged my attention, and occupied my thoughts, ever since 

 I first became acquainted with the bird of which I now proceed to «peak. 



The Cow Bird, which in form and character is allied to the Crow 

 Blackbird, the Redwing, the Orchard Oriole, and other species, together 

 with some of which it forms the genus Icterus, differs from these birds in 

 one important circumstance, which approximates it to the Cuckoo of 

 Europe, a bird entirely different in habits and appearance. Like that 

 bird, it makes no nest of its own, but deposits its eggs, one at a time, in 

 the nests of other birds, leaving them to the care of a foster-parent. 



In the State of Louisiana, the Cow-pen Bird, or as it is also called, 

 the Cow Blackbird, or Cow Bunting, is seen only at long intervals. 

 Some years pass without the appearance of a single individual there. At 

 other times immense flocks are observed mixing with the Redwings, 

 Crow Blackbirds and Robins, searching about the farm-yards, the fields, 

 and the meadows with great diligence for food. At such times they are 

 easily approached, and are shot in great numbers, being considered more 

 delicate and better flavoured than the species with which they associate, ex- 

 cepting the Robin. Like the Red\vings, they seek the swamps and the 

 margins of lakes and rivers, where they roost among the tall sedges, flags, 

 and other aquatic plants. When disturbed in these retreats, they rise 

 in a dense mass, perform various evolutions in the air, and alight again 



