cow BUNTING. 
207 
?ylvaiiia, they Hiiiformly retain the same habits ; and, 
'ft short, that in all these places I have never yet seen 
ftft heard of their nest; reasoning from these facts, I 
think I may safely conclude, that they never hnild one, 
ftftd that, in those I'cmoto northern regions, their manners 
ftre the same as we find them here. 
What reason nature may have for this extraordinary 
deviation from lier general pratdice, is, 1 confess, alto- 
gether beyond my comprehension. There is nothing 
*'ngul,-u' to be observed in the anatomical structure of 
the bird that would seem to prevent, or render it 
’ftcapable of, incubation. The extreme heat of our 
ftlimate is j)robably one reason why, in the months of 
•^ftly and August, tliey arc rarely to be seen here. Yet 
""e have many other migratory birds that regularly pass 
through Pennsylvania to the north, leaving a few 
•■esidents behind them ; who, without exception, build 
their own nests and rear their own yoiino. This part 
ftf the country also abounds with suitable food, such 
•fti they usually subsist on. Many conjectures, indeed, 
•ftight be formed as to the probable cause ; but all of 
them, that have occurred to me, are unsatisfactory and 
'ftconsistent. I'utnre, and more numerous observations, 
'ftade with care, particularly in those countries where 
they most usually pass the summer, may throw more 
hght on this matter; till then we can only rest satisfied 
''■ith the reality of the fact. 
This species winters regularl}!' in the lower parts of 
"Orth and South Carolina and (xeorgia; 1 have also 
*ftet with them near Williamsburg, and in several other 
ports of Virginiii. In January, 1809, I observed strings 
®t' them for sale in the market of Charleston, South 
^rolina. The}’^ often frequent corn and rice fields, in 
'ftftipany with their cousins, as Mr Bartram calls them, 
the red-winged blackbirds; but are more commonly 
mund accomp.anyiug the cattle, feeding on the seeds, 
^’orms, &c. which they pick up amongst the fodder and 
trom the excrements of the cattle, which they scratch 
"P for this purpose. Hence they have pretty generally 
fthtained the name of cow-pen birds, cow birds, or cow 
