130 BIRDS 



presence of the lady. Fancy a cousin of the musical bob- 

 olink behaving so! 



And nothing good can be said for the female cowbird. 

 Shirking as she does every motherly duty, she sneaks about 

 the woods and thickets, slyly watching her chance to lay an 

 egg in the cradle of some other bird, since she never makes 

 a nest of her own. Thus she scatters her prospective 

 family throughout the neighborhood. The yellow warbler, 

 which is a famous sufferer from her visits, sometimes out- 

 wits her, as we have seen; but other warblers, less clever, 

 the vireos, some sparrows, and, more rarely, woodpeckers, 

 flycatchers, orioles, thrushes and wrens, seem to accept the 

 unwelcome gift without a protest. At least they might 

 peck holes in it if unable to roll it out of the nest. Prob- 

 ably every cowbird you see has sacrificed the lives of at 

 least part of a brood of valuable, insectivorous songsters. 

 Without the least spark of gratitude in its cold heart, a 

 young cowbird grafter forsakes its over-kind foster parents 

 as soon as it can pick up its living and remains thenceforth 

 among its own kin — of whom only cows could think well. 



The Bobolink 



Length — 7 inches. A trifle larger than the English sparrow. 



Male — In spring plumage: Black, with light yellow patch 

 on upper neck, also on edges of wings and tail feathers. 

 Rump and upper wings splashed with white. Middle of 

 back streaked with pale buff. Tail feathers have 

 pointed tips. In autumn plumage: resembles female. 



Female — ^Dull yellow-brown, with Hght and dark dashes on 

 back, wings, and tail. Two decided dark stripes on top 

 of head. 



