COW-BIRD, applied to the species of the genus Molothrus and especially to the migratory N. American M. ater. They be long to the passerine family Icteridae and, like the Old World cuckoos, are parasitic and lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. In Texas and Arizona there is a smaller subspecies, the dwarf cow-bird (SI. a. obscures). The bronzed cow-bird (Tanga vius aeneus) is found in Arizona and Mexico; its subspecies, the red-eyed cow-bird (T. a. involucratus), glossy black with brassy reflections, is abundant in southern Texas and in Mexico.