328 
THE RED-WINGED STARLING. 
species. In this singular circumstance we see a striking provision ; for, did this egg require 
a day or two more, instead of so muck less, than those among which it has been dropped, 
the young it contained would, in almost every instance, most inevitably perish, and thus, in a 
few years, the whole species must become extinct. On the first appearance of the young Cow 
Bunting, the parent being frequently obliged to leave the nest to provide sustenance for the 
foundling, the business of incubation is thus, necessarily, interrupted ; the disposition to 
continue it abates. Nature has now given a new direction to the zeal of the parent, and the 
remaining eggs, within a week or more at most, generally disappear. In some instances, 
indeed, they have been found on the ground, near or below the nest, but this is rarely the 
case. I have never known more than one egg of the Cow Bunting in the same nest. The egg 
is somewhat larger than that of the Bluebird, thickly sprinkled with grains of pale brown on 
a dirty white brown.” 
The Cow Bird is pretty evenly distributed over the United States, from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific, though it is rare in Maine, and on the coast of the Pacific is not often seen. 
The Cow Bird derives its name from its habit of haunting the pasture-lands for the pur- 
pose of feeding upon the numerous flies and other insects that are always to be found in the 
vicinity of cattle ; it is also known under the titles of Cow Bunting, and Cow-pen Bird. 
The coloring of the Cow Bird is pleasing, though not brilliant. The head and neck are of 
a dark drab, and have a kind of silken gloss ; the whole of the upper surface and abdomen 
are black, “ shot ” with green, and the upper part of the breast is dark violet. When young 
it is altogether brown, and the darker tints make their appearance by degrees, showing them- 
selves in patches here and there, which enlarge as the bird grows older, and finally overspread 
the entire body. The length of the bird is about seven inches. 
The Meadow Lark (Sturnella). Wilson says of this bird: “Though this well-known 
species cannot boast of the powers of jsong which distinguishes that ‘harbinger of day,’ the 
Skylark of Europe, yet in richness of plumage, as well as sweetness of voice, as far as his few 
notes extend, he stands eminently his superior. He differs from the greater part of his tribe 
in wanting the long, straight hind-claw, which is probably the reason why he has been classed 
by some late naturalists with the Starlings. But in the particular form of his bill, and. his 
manners, plumage, mode and place of building his nest, Nature has clearly pointed out his 
proper family. The species has a very extensive range, having myself found them in Upper 
Canada, and in each of the States. Extensive and luxuriant prairies near St. Louis, Missouri, 
abound with them.” 
These birds, after the breeding season is over, collect in flocks, but seldom fly in a close, 
compact body. Their flight is something like that of the grouse, or partridge, laborious and 
steady, sailing and renewing the rapid action of the wings alternately. When they alight on 
trees or bushes, it is generally on the tops of the highest branches, whence they send forth a 
long, clear, and somewhat melancholy note, that, in sweetness and tenderness of expression, is 
not surpassed by any of our numerous warblers. This is sometimes followed by a kind of low, 
rapid chattering, the particular call of the female ; and again the clear and plaintive strain is 
repeated, as before. 
Two varieties are noticed — one of them found in Mexico, and the other in the Western 
States 
The Red-winged Starling is one of those birds which may either be looked upon as 
most beneficial or most hurtful to the coasts in which they live, according to the light in which 
they are viewed. 
From the farmer’s point of view, it is one of his worst enemies, as it eats vast amounts of 
grain, and assembles in such enormous flocks that the fields are black with their presence, and 
the sun is obscured by the multitude of their wings. The soft immature grain of the Indian 
com is a favorite food with the Red- winged Starlings, and, according to Wilson, “reinforced 
by numerous and daily flocks from all parts of the interior, they pour down on the low coun- 
tries in prodigious multitudes. Hence they are seen like vast clouds, wheeling and driving 
