542 Colorado College Publication 



Molothnis ater. Cowbird. 



Summer resident; common. Arrives about the last of 

 April. Departs in October, has been seen as late as the 29th. 



The Cowbird, well known for its habit of laying its eggs 

 in the nests of 'other birds, is a rather common summer resi- 

 dent in much of the County. Bendire, in his "Life Histories 

 of North American Birds," figures a Cowbird's egg taken from 

 the nest of a Mountain Song Sparrow in El Paso County by 

 Aiken, and Aiken took two eggs from a Meadowlark's nest 

 near Ramah, June 4th. 



Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. Yellow-headed Blackbird. 



Summer resident; common in suitable localities. Arrives 

 the last of April, and departs in September. 



Localities such as the Yellow-headed Blackbird prefers 

 for breeding places are rather rare- in El Paso County, for 

 swamps and sloughs with plenty of tules and rushes are their 

 faivored resorts, and there are not many such within our lim- 

 its. Skinner's being the only place where we know of its breed- 

 ing within the County. The nest is woven to the stems of the 

 tules, and forms a rather deep cup in which 4 or 5 eggs are de- 

 posited. 



\gelaius phoeniceus fortis. Thick-billed Redwing. 



Resident; common. 



While the Red-winged Blackbird may be considered a 

 resident species as some individuals remain through the win- 

 ter, yet it is more abundant in the summer, the migrating birds 

 coming in the spring about the first of March, or the last of 

 February, the males always preceding their mates. Probably 

 most, if not not all, the winter birds are a different lot from 

 the summer residents. They are found all over the County, 

 at least below the foothills, where there is such ground as 

 they like, for they are always found near water, and breed 

 throughout their range. 



