156 



COW BUNTING 



^' I believe all the birds thus intruded on manifest more or less con* 

 " cern at finding the egg of a stranger in their own nests. Among 

 " these the Sparrow is particularly punctilious; for she sometimes 

 " chirps her complaints for a day or two, and often deserts the 

 " premises altogether, even after she has deposited one or more 

 " eggs. The following anecdote will shew not only that the Cow- 

 " pen finch insinuates herself slily into the nests of other birds, but 

 " that even the most pacific of them will resent the insult. A 

 " Blue-bird had built for three successive seasons in the cavity of 

 " a mulberry tree near my dwelling. One day when the nest was 

 " nearly finished, I discovered a female Cow-bird perched upon a 

 " fence stake near it, with her eyes apparently fixed upon the spot 



while the builder was busy in adjusting her nest. The moment 

 " she left it the intruder darted into it, and in five minutes return- 

 " ed and sailed off to her companions with seeming delight, which 

 " she expressed by her gestures and notes. The Blue-bird soon 



returned and entered the nest, but instantaneously fluttered back 

 " with much apparent hesitation, and perched upon the highest 

 " branch of the tree, uttering a rapidly repeated note of complaint 

 " and resentment, which soon brought the male, who reciprocated 

 " her feelings by every demonstration of the most vindictive re- 

 " sentment. They entered the nest together and returned several 

 " times, uttering their uninterrupted complaints for ten or fifteen 

 " minutes. The male then darted away to the neighbouring trees 

 " as if in quest of the offender, and fell upon a Cat-bird which he 

 " chastised severely, and then turned to an innocent Sparrow that 

 " was chanting its ditty in a peach tree. Notwithstanding the af- 

 " front was so passionately resented, I found the Blue-bird had laid 

 " an egg the next day. Perhaps a tenant less attached to a favorite 

 " spot would have acted more fastidiously, by deserting the pre- 

 " mises altogether. In this instance, also, I determined to watch 

 " the occurrences that were to follow, but on one of my morning 



visits I found the common enemy of the eggs and young of all 



