COW BLACKBIRD. 
133 
The males are very fond of strutting about in order to display their brilliant charms to the 
plainly dressed females, for they spread their tails widely, droop their wings, and ruffle their 
dark feathers, not only when singing, but whenever they approach the object of their af¬ 
fections. 
Two or more males often pay their attentions to one female, singularly, without at¬ 
tempting to quarrel, when she will suddenly take wing and all will start in pursuit. The 
flight of a female at this time is exceedingly swift, for she will usually manage to keep ahead 
of her followers who ardently press on, giving a rather sharp, prolonged cry as they dart 
through the air. All the males within hearing join in, and it is not unusual to see a half 
dozen at a time after one of the other sex who will lead them a long chase, now darting 
upward to a considerable height, then doubling, will glide through the tangled branches of 
a clump of trees, emerging on the opposite side with great rapidity. This exciting race 
is evidently maintained merely as a matter of sport, for when the object of chase becomes 
weary she will quietly settle on the branch of a tree, and her admirers gather around her, 
calmly arranging their feathers. After resting for a time one will commence his gallant¬ 
ries once more, when the female darts into the air again and the males dash vehemently 
after her as before. 
Not long after the' arrival of the females they may be seen peering about in bushes or 
among the boughs of trees in search of the nest of some other bird in which to deposit their 
eggs. Their judgement, or rather instinct, must be almost unerring, for I never knew one 
to mistake an old nest for a fresh one, nor do they ever place their eggs with those that 
are partly incubated. The species which the Cow Blackbirds select as foster-parents for 
their young are, strangely enough, almost always smaller than themselves. The Thrushes, 
Warblers, some Sparrows, and occasionally the Wrens, are the prominent birds chosen. 
The intruding egg is, I think, laid when the owner of the nest is absent, as those birds 
which are most assiduous in guarding their homes, like the Flycatchers, are only occasion¬ 
ally troubled. It is a noteworthy fact that very few species ever notice this addition to 
their store of eggs, even though it be very much larger, and quite different in color. 
Occasionally the nest will be abandoned after the visit of the Cow Blackbird, and once in a 
while a new structure will be built over the intruding egg. The species which more often 
show this good judgement are the Yellow Warbler and Gold Finch, but it is probable that 
this only occurs when the parasitical egg is laid before any of their own. Sometimes two 
or even three Cow Blackbird’s eggs are to be found in one nest, but undoubtedly this is 
the work of more than one female, as it is probable that the instinct of each bird teaches 
her never to visit the same nest a second time. 
The young changeling does not appear to be looked upon as an intruder, for it is care¬ 
fully reared. This may be due to the fact that, as the eggs of the Cow Birds are always 
hatched first, and either the eggs which belonged in the nest are removed by the parents 
as worthless, or when the young are hatched they are so very weak that they are crushed 
to death by the interloper; thus the foster-child, being the only one left, it receives all the 
attention which should have been bestowed upon the rightful owners of the nest. An¬ 
other proof that the intrusion of this species does not trouble the birds upon which it im- 
