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 mot^r. 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. 



The Starling 



(Slurnus vulgaris) 



Length — 8 to 9 inches. Weight about equals that of robin, but 

 the starling, with its short, drooping tail, is chunkier in ap- 

 pearance. 



Male — Iridescent black with glints of purple, green, and blue. On 

 back the black feathers, with iridescence of green, and bronze, 

 are tipped with brown, as are some of the tail and wing 

 feathers. In autumn and early winter feathers of sides of 

 head, breast, flanks and underparts are tipped with white, 

 giving a gray, mottled appearance. During the winter most 

 of the white tips on breast and underparts wear off. Until 

 the first moult in late summer the young birds are a dark 

 olive-brown in color, with white or whitish throat. These 

 differences in plumage at different seasons and different ages 

 make starlings hard to identify. Red-winged blackbirds 

 and grackles are often mistaken for them. From early spring 

 till mid-June, starling's rather long, sharp bill is yellow. 



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