104 
OUR HOME BIRDS. 
their little changelings as if they were their own 
flesh and blood. 
“ The cow-bird never deposits more than one egg 
in the same nest, but this egg is always hatched 
before those of the nest-builder; and as the young 
stranger always clamors for something to eat as soon 
as it appears, the step-mother leaves her other eggs 
to pacify it, and, once interrupted in setting, seems 
to forget to return to it. In the course of a day or 
two the eggs disappear, and have occasionally been 
found on the ground near or below the nest. The 
one fledgling appears to occupy all the old bird’s 
thoughts, and both are as well satisfied as if they 
lawfully belonged to each other. 
“ Sometimes, however, the intrusion is resented at 
first, although it is usually accepted in the end ; and 
some one relates the conduct of a blue-bird who had 
built for three successive seasons in the cavity of a 
mulberry tree near his 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 re- 
turned, and sailed off to her companions with seem- 
ing delight, which she expressed by her gestures and 
notes. The blue-bird soon returned, and entered the 
