CO W-BIRDS. 
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hand; and it is no uncommon thing to have the birds fluttering within a few feet 
of one s head. The animals appear to rather like the birds, and suffer them to 
perch in a row upon their backbones, doubtless finding the scratching of their 
feet a comfortable sensation, to say nothing of the riddance from insect parasites.” 
The cow-bird’s foster-parents are numerous, notably the summer yellow-bird, 
the Maryland yellow-throat, and the red-eyed vireo. It is rare to find more than 
two eggs of this cow-bird in a single nest, although as many as five have been 
found together. In colour the eggs are white, speckled with brown. The adult 
THE COMMON COW-BIRD (| Hat. size). 
of the common cow-bird is of a lustrous greenish black, with blue and purple 
reflections; the head and neck being deep wood-brown, with some purplish lustre. 
The female is dull coloured, of a nearly uniform greyish brown above, and paler 
beneath. 
Writing of a South American member of the genus, Mr. W. H. Hudson 
observes that the male of the “ screaming cow-bird of La Plata, when perched, 
emits a hollow-sounding internal note that swells at the end into a sharp metallic 
ring, almost bell-like; this is uttered with wings and tail depressed, the whole 
plumage being puffed out as in a strutting turkey-cock, while the bird hops 
