whether it departed from the nest in the natural way. Our at- 

 tention was not drawn to the old birds giving any care to it 

 away from the nest. The following notes were recorded on the 

 forenoon of the 8th: 



"40. 9 :39 a. m. Cowbird gets his feet against one rim of tho 

 nest, and with this brace pushes backward against the young 

 Vireos.^' 



"49. 10:24 a. m. Cowbird attempts to preen feathers, and 

 repeatedly raises up in nest to stretch, and at same time crowds 

 Vireo young to the wall. ' ^ 



These notes suggest that the Cowbird was preparing for de- 

 parture, aud also the maoner in which the rightful owners of 

 the nest may be evicted. 



TABLE III 



SHOWING THE RELATIVE NUMBER OF FEEDINGS GIVEN EACH 

 OF THE NESTLINGS DURING CERTAIN PERIODS WHILE THE 

 COWBIRD WAS STILL IN THE NEST. THE RECORDS FOR JULY 

 8 ARE FOR THE ENTIRE DAY; THOSE OF JULY 9 ARE FROM 

 DAY-LIGHT TO NOON 





July 8 



July 9 



Total 



Percentage 



White 



18 



8 



26 



15 



Blue 



30 



16 



46 



27 



Cowbird 



57 



44 



101 



58 





105 



68 



173 





The tabulation of the feeding visits (see Table III) shows that 

 during the day and a half of study, before the Cowbird disap- 

 peared, it received 58 per cent of all the food. While this may 

 seem to be an excessive proportion of food, two factors may be 

 borne in mind, viz., that the Cowbird was both older and larger, 

 besides being a Cowbird. The data of this study show that, 

 during the same period, Blue, the older Vireo, got 27 per cent 

 of the food, while White, the younger, got 15 per cent. While 

 this may be a general and simple fact, our inquiry here is simply 

 as to whether the Cowbird got more food by virtue of being a 

 Cowbird, or also because of other factors. Our answer is that 

 we cannot overlook the facts of age and size; and further dis- 

 cussion would relate to the instincts of the adult Cowbird in 

 selecting the nest and time for deposition of the egg, which is 

 beyond the present purpose. 



32 



