16 THE* AU DU BOW, BU alee 
perhaps should appeal to us, if we do not resent their seeming boldness. 
All Cowbirds hold their heads high. They do not allow themselves to be 
quickly disturbed by the near approach of passersby in the parks, but 
hold their ground. Anyone who wishes may observe a Cowbird at close 
range. 
There is nothing attractive about the Cowbird’s note, a low chack. In 
the mating season the male gives a liquid, wiry squeak accompanied by a 
spreading of the wings and tail. 
From tabulated reports of its food habits it is easily evident that if its 
diet alone were considered the Cowbird would rank as a beneficial bird, but 
its destruction of the young of so.many species that are as valuable or 
more than itself overbalances the good it does as a seed- and insect- 
destroyer. It is estimated that the lives of from two to five other birds 
is the price of each Cowbird. About 22 percent of its food is animal matter 
and 78 percent vegetable. Its best work is in destroying grasshoppers. 
It also eats boll weevils and caterpillars. It does no harm to cultivated 
fruits. Its vegetable food consists mainly of weed seeds and grain, the 
former predominating and the latter being largely waste. Perhaps it 
should be remembered that the Cowbird is one of the most efficient checks 
on the undue increase of a large number of species. 
Many unpleasant things have been said of the Cowbirds’ sexual relations, 
but after five years devoted uninterruptedly to the study of Cowbirds in 
North and South America Dr. Herbert Friedmann concluded that it is 
monogamous, “but open to, or not protected from, the advent of polyandry.” 
The facts that the number of males greatly exceeds that of females and that 
the birds do not defend their territories make the possibility of polyandry 
greater. 
Cowbirds are always gregarious and flock more or less the year around. 
They walk about with tails lifted high from the ground. Groups may often 
be seen walking sedately about among cattle in pastures, hence their name. 
Sometimes they are of service to the cattle, as when they alight upon their 
backs and seize the insect parasites, flies, etc. to be found there. 
Cowbirds sometimes associate with blackbirds or starlings, but they 
usually roost by themselves, frequently in coniferous trees. Another 
favorite roosting place is in grass and reeds far out on wide meadows. 
Two subspecies closely akin to the eastern Cowbird are the Sagebrush 
Cowbird of the West (Minnesota to Washington to Utah and Colorado), 
and the Dwarf Cowbird (Mexico and southern California, Arizona, and 
Texas). 
The Red-eyed Cowbird of southern Texas (breeding as far north as 
San Antonio), eastern Mexico, and central America has black plumage, 
dull in the female and silky in the male. The adult male has a conspicious 
erectile ruff on the sides of the neck. The eggs of this specise are plain 
bluish-green without spots. The Bronzed Cowbird, closely related to the 
red-eyed, lives in Mexico, but sometimes wanders over the border into 
Arizona. — 
