660 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
feathers of upperparts bordered with gray and underparts conspicuously streaked 
with brown and buffy or whitish. 
Range. —Eastern North America, breeding from Ontario, Quebec, and New 
Brunswick south to Atlantic Coast, Virginia, Louisiana, central Texas, and New 
Mexico; winters from Michigan and Massachusetts south to Florida, Alabama, and 
Michoacan. 
State Records. —The Cowbird is a fairly common breeder over much of the 
lower parts of New Mexico, except the southwestern corner. It was first recorded 
on July 27, 1820, on Major Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, while near 
the head of the Mora River, when one was said to have followed the party for 5 or 6 
hours (in James, 1823, vol. II, p. 80). It breeds certainly at Shiprock (Gilman), 
Gallup (Fisher), Taos (Bailey), Espanola (Surber), Albuquerque (Ligon), Ribera 
(Bailey), Los Pinos (Coues), Santa Rosa and Carlsbad (Bailey), Carlisle (Barrell), 
Silver City and Chloride (Ligon), and Fort Thorn (Henry). [At Lake Burford, 4 
were seen May 23-June 19, 1928 (Wetmore). It is common in northern Santa Fe 
County (Jensen, 1922).] These places vary in altitude from 4,600 feet at Santa Rosa 
to 7,000 feet at Taos. As a breeder it has been found from 3,500 to 6,500 feet and 
probably is not common much above 6,500 feet. 
In the fall, when it spreads widely over the country, it still remains usually below 
7,000 feet, though a single bird was taken May 11, 1900, at Willis, 7,800 feet (Birt- 
well), and one was seen on August 14, 1904, near the Hondo Canyon, 8,100 feet 
(Bailey). Near Koehler Junction, July 28 to October 24, 1913, a few were seen 
about almost every herd of cattle, and a flock of 100 to 200 was seen on September 6 
(Kaimbach). During migration the species must pass through the southern half of 
the State to its winter home in Mexico. The larger part of this migration occurs in 
September, but a few remain much longer, even to October 30 in 1908, at Fruitland 
(Birdseye). 
All leave the State for the winter, and in the spring return late in April. A bird 
of this form was taken, April 28, 1913, on the Gila, near the Arizona boundary 
(Brooks).—W. W. Cooke. 
Eggs— Deposited, usually singly, in nests of other birds, 8 to 12, whitish, whole 
surface covered with brown specks and blotches, usually heaviest about the larger 
end. 
Food.— Grain, 16 per cent, half of which is probably waste, 20 per cent insects, 
which are either harmful or annoying, among them the alfalfa weevil, which is eaten 
largely in its season. In Colfax County, July 28 to October 24, grasshoppers made 
94 per cent (Kaimbach). More than 50 per cent seeds of noxious weeds whose 
destruction is a positive benefit to the farmer. 
General Habits. —The brown-headed, glossy-bodied Cowbirds, 
of whatever subspecies, associate not only with cows but horses 
walking close by their heads to pick up the insects disturbed by them 
as they move slowly about cropping grass. So familiar do the birds 
become that they often perch on the backs of their animal friends. 
Near Santa Rosa, where they came about our camp, their whistles 
were heard a great deal, at a little distance being surprisingly sug¬ 
gestive of the call of the Goldfinch. Whatever the historic causes, 
the present domestic habits of the Cowbirds are abnormal, making 
them pariahs of the bird world. Not only are they polygamous and 
polyandrous, but they shirk the duties of parentage, depositing their 
