LIFE OF WILSON. 
CXI 
“Let me know if you have ever seen the nest of Catesby’s 
Coxvpen-bh'd, I have every reason to believe that this bird never 
builds itself a nest, but, like the Cuckoo of Europe, drops its eggs 
into the nests of other birds ; and leaves the result to their mercv 
and management. I have found no less than six nests this season 
with each a young Cow-bird contained in it. One of these which 
I had found in the nest of the Maryland Yellow-throat, and which 
occupied the whole nest, I brought home, and put it into the cage 
of a Crested Red-bird, who became its foster father, and fed, and 
reared it, with great affection. It begins to chant a little. 
“ I have just heard from our old friend M * * * * '^ ^. He has 
not yet published the first number of his work ; and Bonaparte has 
been so busy with cutting throats, and building bridges, in the fo- 
rests of Austria, that the Inspector of the Forests of France has not 
yet received his appointment.” 
To Mr. WM. BARTRAM. 
October 11, 1809. 
“ Thanks for your bird, so neatly stuffed that I was just about 
to skin it. It is the Rallus Virginiamis of Turton, and agrees ex- 
actly with his description. The one in company was probably the 
female. Turton mentions four species as inhabitants of the United 
States. I myself have seen six. Mr. Abbot of Savannah showed 
me two new species. I found the Sora, as the Virginians call it, 
in the rice flats near Savannah, in March. General Wilkinson 
told me that the Sora was in multitudes at Detroit. Query — don’t 
you think they breed in the north, like the Rice-birds ? Are not 
the European naturalists mistaken in saying that the Reed-birds or 
Rice-birds pass from the island of Cuba, in September, to Carolina ? 
All the Spaniards with whom I have conversed say that these birds 
are seen in Cuba early in the spring only, and again in October. 
