Conspicuously Black 



Polygamous and utterly irresponsible for its offspring, this bird 

 forms a striking contrast to other feathered neighbors, and indeed 

 is almost an anomaly in the animal kingdom. In the breeding 

 season an unnatural mother may be seen skulking about in the 

 trees and shrubbery, seeking for nests in which to place a sur- 

 reptitious egg, never imposing it upon a bird of its size, but se- 

 lecting in a cowardly way a small nest, as that of the vireos or 

 warblers or chipping sparrows, and there leaving the hatching and 

 care of its young to the tender mercies of some already burdened 

 little mother. It has been seen to remove an egg from the nest 

 of the red-eyed vireo in order to place one of its own in its 

 place. Not finding a convenient nest, it will even drop its eggs 

 on the ground, trusting them to merciless fate, or, still worse, 

 devouring them. The eggs are nearly an inch long, white 

 speckled with brown or gray. 



Cowbirds are gregarious. The ungrateful young birds, as 

 soon as they are able to go roaming, leave their foster-parents and 

 join the flock of their own kind. In keeping with its unclean 

 habits and unholy life and character, the cowbird's ordinary note 

 is a gurgling, rasping whistle, followed by a few sharp notes. 



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