178 
COW BUNTING. 
general, and which bespeaks a morose, unfeeling and unreflect- 
ing mind. These peculiarities are often surprising, always in- 
structive where understood, and (as in the subject of our present 
chapter) at least amusing, and worthy of being farther investi- 
gated. 
The most remarkable trait in the character of this species is 
the unaccountable practice it has of dropping its eggs into the 
nests of other birds, instead of building and hatching for itself; 
and thus entirely abandoning its progeny to the care and mercy 
of strangers. More than two thousand years ago it was well 
known, in those countries where the bird inhabits, that the Cuc- 
koo of Europe ( Cuculus canorus) never built herself a nest, but 
dropped her eggs in the nests of other birds; but among the thou- 
sands of different species that spread over that and other parts of 
the globe, no other instance of the same uniform habit has been 
found to exist, until discovered in the bird now before us. Of 
the reality of the former there is no doubt; it is known to every 
schoolboy in Britain; of the truth of the latter I can myself speak 
with confidence, from personal observation, and from the testi- 
mony of gentlemen, unknown to each other, residing in different 
and distant parts of the United States. The circumstances by 
which I became first acquainted with this peculiar habit of the 
bird are as follow. 
I had, in numerous instances, found in the nests of three or 
four particular species of birds, one egg, much larger and differ- 
ently marked from those beside it; I had remarked that these 
odd looking eggs were all of the same colour, and marked near- 
ly in the same manner, in whatever nest they lay; though fre- 
quently the eggs beside them were of a quite difierent tint; and 
I had also been told, in a vague way, that the Cow-bird laid in 
other birds’ nests. At length I detected the female of this very 
bird in the nest of the Red-eyed Flycatcher, which nest is very 
small, and very singularly constructed; suspecting her purpose, 
I cautiously withdrew without disturbing her; and had the sa- 
tisfaction to find, on my return, that the egg which she had just 
dropt corresponded as nearly as eggs of the same species usually 
