CANADIAN WARBLER. 271 
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The eggs, numbering from four to five, are white, speckled and spotted, chiefly 
around the larger end, with lilac, reddish, and dark brown. 
This and many other small birds are frequently victimized by the Cowbird. Mr. 
John Burroughs, in his excellent little book ‘‘Wake Robin,” gives the following account: 
“In a little opening, quite free from brush and trees, I step down to bathe my hands 
in the brook, when a small, light slate-colored bird flutters out of the bank, not three~ 
feet from my head, as I stoop down, and, as if severely lamed or injured, flutters through 
the grass and into the nearest bush. As I do not follow, but remain near the nest, she 
chips sharply, which brings the male, and I see it is the Speckled Canada Warbler. I 
find no authority in the books for this bird to build upon the ground, yet here is the 
nest, made chiefly of dry grass, set in a slight excavation in the bank, not two feet 
from the water, and looking a little perilous to anything but ducklings or sandpipers. 
There are two young birds and one little speckled egg, just pipped. But how is this? 
What mystery is here? One nestling is much larger than the other, monopolizes most 
of the nest, and lifts its open mouth far above that of its companion, though obviously 
both are of the same age, not more than a day old. Ah! I see; the old trick of the 
Cow Bunting, with a stinging human significance. Taking the interloper by the nape 
of the neck, I deliberately drop ‘it into the water, but not without a pang, as I see its 
naked form, convulsed with chills, float down stream. Cruel? So is nature cruel. I 
take one life to save two. In less than two days this pot-bellied intruder would have 
caused the death of the two rightful occupants of the nest; sol step in and turn things 
into their proper channel again. 
“It is a singular freak of nature, this instinét which prompts one bird to lay its 
eggs in the nests of others, and thus shirk the responsibility of rearing its own young. 
The Cow Buntings always resort to this cunning trick; and when one reflects upon 
their numbers it is evident that these little tragedies are quite frequent. In Europe the 
parallel case is that of the Cuckoo, and occasionally our own Cuckoo imposes upon a 
Robin or a Thrush in the same manner. The Cow Bunting seems to have no conscience 
about the matter, and, so far as I have observed, invariably selects the nest of a bird 
smaller than itself. Its egg is usually the first to hatch; its young overreaches all the 
rest when food is brought; it grows with great rapidity, spreads and fills the nest, and 
the starved and crowded occupants soon perish, when the parent bird removes their 
dead bodies, giving its whole energy and care to the foster-child. The Warblers and 
smaller Flycatchers are generally the sufferers, though I sometimes see the Slate-colored 
Snowbird unconsciously duped in like manner; and the other day, in a tall tree in the 
woods, I discovered the Black-throated Green-backed Warbler devoting itself to this 
dusky, overgrown foundling. An old farmer to whom I pointed out the fact, was much 
surprised that such things should happen in his woeds without his knowledge. These 
birds may be seen prowling through all parts of the woods at this season, watching for 
an opportunity to steal their egg into some nest. One day while sitting on a log I saw 
one moving by short flights through the trees and gradually nearing the ground. Its 
movements were hurried and stealthy. About fifty yards from me it disappeared behind 
some low brush and had evidently alighted upon the ground. 
“After waiting a few moments I cautiously walked in the direction. When about 
