120 
BIRDS 
Figure 110 . — Male and Female Cowbirds. 
Notice the difference in shade of the two birds. The female at the right 
is gray. What advantage would a dull color be to her while she was in the 
nest of another bird ? 
kinds of birds will come to these drinking places. At one 
such bath the following birds came during one summer: 
robin, oriole, catbird, yellow warbler, song-sparrow, pewee 
(to catch insects at the water), red-headed woodpecker, black- 
throated blue warbler, and goldfinch. Birds will bathe in 
the drinking fountains if they are shallow enough to allow 
them to wade. 
98. Adaptations of Birds for Winter. — Birds have several 
ways of meeting the unfavorable conditions of winter. 
The great majority migrate to a more favorable climate, the 
bluebirds going to the Southern States, while the bobolinks 
migrate to South America, some of them as far as Argentina. 
The red-headed woodpecker lays up beechnuts and acorns in 
the fall and feeds on them during the winter. The gold¬ 
finches that are common about our homes in the early fall 
gather in flocks and frequent swamps and heavy timbered 
regions, feeding on fruits that still cling to the trees. The 
ruffed grouse has a fringe of tissue that grows on its toes 
