532 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NEW JERSEY. 



XANTHOCEPHALUS, Swains. 



X. xanthocephalus, Bonap. Yellow-headed Blackbird. 



Male black, with white wing patch ; head and neck rich yel- 

 low ; female smaller, browner and less yellow. Length, 10 

 inches; tail, 4| inches. A western form straying occasionally 

 to the Atlantic border from Massachusetts to Florida. 



AGELAIUS, Vieill. 



A. phceniceus, L. Ked-winged Blackbird, or Starling. Swamp Black- 

 bird. 



Male glossy (not iridescent) black ; lesser wing coverts scarlet, 

 with buffy paler edgings ; female dusky ; plumage everywhere 

 streaked ; rusty tinge on throat. Length, 9 inches ; tail 4 

 inches. 



" Equally abundant throughout the central and southern por- 

 tions of the State. Numerous about the northern, hilly sections. 

 ' Red-wings ' are migratory and do not, as is the case with 

 ' grackles/ remain in scattered flocks during the winter, probably 

 amounting to one-fourth of their number. Appearing in scat- 

 tered twos and threes, often as early as March 1st, they frequent 

 now only the meadows and vicinity of creeks, the males singing 

 continually, and when courtship has ended, suitable localities for 

 nidification are sought, and two broods are raised, the eggs of the 

 second being deposited about a week after the previous brood has 

 left the nest. The second brood is usually fully fledged by the 

 middle of July. During the breeding season, the ' red-wings ' 

 live largely upon worms, grubs and aquatic insects, and after 

 numerous examinations, it has been found that they do not feed 

 their young upon grain, although at this time they are generally 

 very attentive to corn-fields, and certainly do exhume a consid- 

 erable quantity, but it is seldom the case that corn has to be 

 replanted solely in consequence of the previous planting having 

 been taken up by ' red-wings.' In September, these birds col- 

 lect in flocks, frequently numbering a thousand individuals, and 

 frequent now only the low marshy lands. In company with the 

 'reedbirds/ they are mostly found about the reeds, and feed 

 almost wholly on the seeds of this plant, and insects. By No- 



