Female Maryland Yellow-throat (Sylvia Marylandica), length about four inches; and young Cow-Bird, length about seven inches. of their eggs and the rearing of their helpless orphans. Among the birds selected for this duty are the following, the blue-bird (Sialia Wilsonii), which builds in a hollow tree; the chipping-sparrow (Fringilla socia lis), in a cedar bush; the golden-crowned thrush (Turdus auro-capillus), on the ground, in the shape of an oven; the red-eyed flycatcher (Sylvia alivacea), in a neat pensile nest, hung by the two upper edges on a small sapling or drooping branch; the yellowbird, in the fork of an alder; the Maryland yellowthroat, on the ground at the roots of briar bushes; the white-eyed flycatcher (Muscicapa cantatrix), a pensile nest on the bending of a smilax vine, and the small blue-grey flycatcher (M. cærulea), also a pensile nest, fastened to the slender twigs of a tree, sometimes

at the height of fifty or sixty feet from the ground. There are, no doubt, others to whom the same charge is committed; but all these I have myself met with acting in that capacity. Among these the yellow-throat and the red-eyed flycatcher appear to be particular favourites, and the kindness and affectionate attention which these two little birds seem to pay to their nurslings fully justify the partiality of the parents. It is well known to those who have paid attention to the manners of birds, that, after their nest is fully finished, a day or two generally elapses before the female begins to lay. This delay is, in most cases, necessary to give firmness to the yet damp materials and allow them time to dry. In this state it is sometimes met with, and laid in by the cow-bunting, the result of which I have invariably found to be the desertion of the nest by its rightful owner, and the consequent loss of the egg thus dropped in it by the intruder. But when the owner herself has begun to lay, and there are one or more eggs in the nest before the cow-bunting deposits hers, the attachment of the proprietor is secured, and remains unshaken until incubation is fully performed and the little stranger is able to provide for itself. In the month of July last," continues Wilson, "I took from the nest of the Maryland yellow-throat, which was built among the dry leaves at the root of a briar bush, a young male cow-bunting, which filled and occupied the whole nest. I had previously watched the motions of the foster-parents for more than an hour, in order to ascertain whether any more of their young were lurking about or not, and was fully satisfied that there were none. They had, in all probability, perished in the manner before mentioned. I took this bird home with me, and placed it in the same cage with a red-bird (Loxia cardinalis), who at first, and for several minutes after, examined it closely, and

seemingly with great curiosity. It soon became clamorous for food, and from that moment the red-bird seemed to adopt it as his own, feeding it with all the assiduity and tenderness of the most affectionate nurse. When he found that the grasshopper which he had brought it was too large for it to swallow, he took the insect from it, broke it in small portions, chewed them a little to soften them, and, with all the gentleness and delicacy imaginable, put them separately into its mouth. He often spent several minutes in looking at and examining it all over, and in picking off any particles of dirt that he observed on its plumage. In teaching and encouraging it to eat of itself he often reminded me of the lines of Goldsmith,

"He tried each art, reprov'd each dull delay,

Allur'd to fav'rite food,' and led the way."

This cow-bird is now six months old, is in complete plumage, and repays the affectionate services of his foster-parent with a frequent display of all the musical talents with which nature has gifted him. These, it must be confessed, are far from being ravishing; yet, for their singularity, are worthy of notice. He spreads his wings, swells his body into a globular form, bristling every feather in the manner of a turkey-cock, and, with great seeming difficulty, utters a few low, spluttering notes, as if proceeding from his belly; always, on these occasions, strutting in front of the spectator with great consequential affectation. To see the red-bird, who is himself so excellent a performer, silently listening to all this guttural splutter, reminds me of the great Handel contemplating a wretched cat-gut scraper. Perhaps, however, these may be meant for the notes of love and gratitude, which are sweeter to the ear,

and dearer to the heart, than all the artificial solos or concertos on this side heaven*."

Besides these personal observations, Wilson received communications from various quarters, all corroborative of the singular habits just described; and, amongst others, one from Dr. Potter, of Baltimore, the more interesting parts of which we shall endeavour to condense. He remarked that the cowbirds do not appear to pair, no more than the cuckoos observed by Dr. Jenner, being seen during the breeding season in odd or even numbers from one to twenty; and when a female separates from the company, her departure is not noticed, no gallant partner accompanies her, nor manifests any solicitude in her absence; nor is her return greeted by the fond tenderness which is so remarkable in most other birds. This want of reciprocal attachment, however, is quite consistent with the general economy of the cowbirds; for such attachments would be superfluous, seeing that they neither build a nest nor nurse their own young. By watching a number of these birds during the breeding season, the female may be observed to desert her associates, assume a sickly aspect, and perch upon some eminence where she can reconnoitre the proceedings of birds in constructing their nests; but if she cannot from such a station make a discovery suitable for her purpose, she becomes restless, and flits about from tree to tree till she finds a nest to her mind.

66

Seeing a female," 66 Dr. Potter, says prying into a group of bushes in search of a nest, I determined to see the result, if practicable; and knowing how easily they are disconcerted by the near approach of man, I mounted my horse, and proceeded slowly, sometimes seeing and sometimes losing sight *Wilson, Amer. Ornith., ii. 162.

of her, till I had travelled nearly two miles along the margin of a creek. She entered every thick place, prying with the strictest scrutiny into places where the small birds usually build, and at last darted suddenly into a thick copse of alders (Alni) and briars, where she remained for five or six minutes, when she returned, soaring above the underwood, and returned to the company she had left feeding in the field. Upon entering the covert, I found the nest of a yellow-throat (Sylvia Marylandica), with an egg of each. In the progress of the cow-bird along the creek's side, she entered the thick boughs of a small cedar, and returned several times before she could prevail on herself to quit the place; and, upon examination, I found a sparrow sitting on its nest, on which she no doubt would have stolen in the absence of the owner. It is, I believe, certain, that the cow-bird never makes a forcible entry upon the premises, by attacking other birds and ejecting them from their rightful tenements, although they are all, perhaps, inferior in strength, except the blue-bird, which, although of a mild as well as affectionate disposition, makes a vigorous resistance when assaulted. Like most tyrants and thieves, they are cowardly, and accomplish by stealth what they cannot obtain by force.

"The yellow-throat returned while I waited near the spot, and darted into her nest, but returned immediately, and perched upon a bough near the place, remained a minute or two, and entered it again, returned and disappeared. In ten minutes she returned with the male. They chattered with great agitation for half an hour, seeming to participate in the affront, and then left the place."

It is a most remarkable circumstance, that the eggs of the rightful owners of a nest, both in the instance of the cuckoo and the cow-bird, should always dis