_Molothrus ater ater. Case 5, Figs. 8, 9_
The male's brown head distinguishes him from other
Blackbirds; the female wears a dull gray garb well
designed to make her inconspicuous. L. 8.
_Range._ North America; nesting from North
Carolina and Louisiana to Canada; winters from
Virginia and Ohio southward.
Washington, rather rare P.R., common T.V.
Ossining, common S.R., Mch. 23-Nov. 11.
Cambridge, common S.R., Mch. 25-Nov. 1; occasional
in winter. N. Ohio, abundant S.R., Mch. 10-Nov.
15. Glen Ellyn, common S.R., Mch. 15-Sept. 10. SE.
Minn., common S.R., Apl. 11-Aug. 19.
Outlaws among birds, they pair not neither do they build. Without moral
standards or maternal instincts the female accepts the attention of any
male that chances to win her fancy and deposits her eggs in the nests of
other birds. She is a slacker and a shirker, who keeps much in the
background during the breeding season. Color, habit, his sliding, glassy
whistle, and guttural gurgling, make the male conspicuous. Leaving the
care of their foster parents the young join others of their kind and
flock in the grainfields or about cattle in the pastures.