COWBIRD. 



■ Molothrus ater Gray. 



Plate XVII. Fig. 2 and 3. 



H^HE CowBiRD, also known as the Cow Blackbird, Cow Bunting, Sheep-bird, Lazy 

 £* Bird, Clodhopper, Shiny-eye, and Buffalo Bird, has a very bad reputation. Like 

 the European Cuckoo it is a pernicious parasite, imposing its eggs upon other birds, 

 leaving to them the hatching and the raising of the young. As it is an exceedingly 

 common and rather tame bird in all the rural districts of the eastern part of our 

 country, we are well acquainted with its habits. These birds are usually moving about 

 in loose flocks among the grazing cattle and are often seen perched on the backs of the 

 cows picking off all kinds of parasitic insects. The male is a plainly colored bird, deep 

 black, with a chocolate-brown head. The female is brownish-gray. 



The Cowbird's geographical range is a large one. It is found over the whole 

 of the United States and British America, north to Little Slave Lake. It winters from 

 southern Illinois to southern Mexico, being very abundant in all suitable localities in 

 the South Atlantic and Gulf States, where it is often seen in company of Red- winged 

 Blackbirds. In south-eastern Texas I observed it in large flocks from the early part 

 of November to the beginning of March, and many remained during the breeding season. 

 In all the cultivated districts of the Northern States, east of the Rocky Mountains, it 

 is one of the most numerous of our birds. Sparingly it occurs as far west as eastern 

 British Columbia, eastern Washington, Oregon, and California, but it is totally absent 

 west of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains. From the latitude of Houston, 

 Texas, and New Orleans it is distributed to Little Slave Lake, Athabasca, latitude 

 55°, 33', and perhaps still farther into the Arctic regions in summer. 



In Wisconsin and northern Illinois the Cowbirds make their appearance about the 

 middle of April, often in company of the Red-winged Blackbirds. Without separating 

 into pairs they remain together in smaller or larger assemblages, roaming about in the 

 country, usually in pastures, near orchards and thickets, and on the w^oodland border. 

 They derive several of their common names fk-om their associations with the cows and 

 sheep, and we often see them on the backs of these animals or among the cattle on the 

 ground, where they find abundance of food in the droppings. They are not easily 

 disturbed, so we may observe them at leisure. If flushed the whole flock alights on the 

 ground at some distance, returning as soon as they feel safe. All of the members of the 

 odd band act as if by mutual consent. When one flies down to the ground, the others 

 follow at once, and when one rests, the others do the same. During the hottest time 

 of the day they seek shelter in the shady branches of an isolated tree, where they are 

 resting, preening their feathers and stretching in a droll way their legs or spreading their 

 wings. At this time, especially from their arrival until late in June, we have an oppor- 

 tunity to become acquainted with their musical abilities. Quite a number of males may 

 be seen perched on a fence, or the limb of a tree, each one uttering very singular harsh, 



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