Nest.—Of grasses in a hollow on the ground, in meadows. They lay four to six eggs with a white ground color, heavily spotted, clouded and blotched with brown (.85 × .62).
Range.—N. A. east of the Rockies, breeding from New Jersey and Kansas north to Manitoba and New Brunswick; winters in South America.
COWBIRD
495. Molothrus ater. 7¾ inches
Male glossy greenish black, with a brown head; female and young, dull gray.
Groups of these birds are often seen walking sedately about among the cows in the pasture, hence their name. They are the only birds that we have that neither make a nest of their own nor care for their young. The female slyly deposits her egg in the nest of a smaller bird when the owner is absent, leaving further care of it to its new owner. Warblers, Sparrows and Vireos seem to be most imposed upon in this manner.
Notes.—A low “chack,” and by the male a liquid, wiry squeak accompanied by a spreading of the wings and tail.
Range.—U. S., chiefly east of the Rockies, breeding from the Gulf to Manitoba and New Brunswick; winters in southern U. S. A sub-species, the Dwarf Cowbird (obscurus), is found in southwestern United States; it is slightly smaller.
