The New Student's Reference Work/Cowbird

COWBIRD

Cowbird, a bird found in fields feeding near cattle, picking up the insects the animals disturb in their grazing. It sometimes rides on the back of a cow, and often may be seen just in front of one. It makes no nest, but, like the European cuckoos, lays its eggs in the nests of other birds—usually in the nest of a smaller bird. The young cowbird is larger than the other nestlings, but the deception does not seem to be noticed by the foster-mother. The male cowbird is glossy, greenish-black, with head and neck dark coffee-brown. The female is dirty brownish-gray, with whitish throat. They live in small flocks.