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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