136 NEW- YORK FAUNA — BIRDS. 



FAMILY QUISCALW^E. 



Bill conic, elongate, stout, straight, entire. Nasal sinus short and wide. Outer and middle 

 toes adherent at the base. Tail various, of twelve feathers. 



GENUS QUISCALUS. Vieillot. 



Bill as long as the head, compressed from the base, entire. Upper mandible curved from the 

 middle, with a long keel within. Nostrils basal, oval, half closed by a membrane. Tongue 

 cartilaginous, lacerated at the sides, and cleft at the tip. Tarsus as long as the middle 

 toe and claw. Wings moderately long ; the first quill equal to the fifth, and shorter than 

 the second and third, which are longest. Plumage glossy. 



THE COMMON CROW BLACKBIRD. 



QtTISCALUS VERSICOLOR. 

 PLATE XXIII. FIG. 49. 



(STATE COLLECTION.) 



Gracuta guiscala, Linn.eus, p. 1C5. Purple Gralrte, Pennant, Arct. Zool. Vol. 2, pp. 263 and 265. 



G. quiscalu. Wilson, Am. Orn. Vol. 3, p. 44, pi. 21, fig. 4. 



G. barita. Ord, Ac. Sc. Vol. 1, p. 253. 



Quiscalus versicolor. Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. Vol. 28, p. 498 ; Gal. des Ois. pi. 108. Bonaparte, Am. Orn. Vol. 

 1, p. 52, pi. 5, fig. 1 (female). Audubon, folio, pi. 7. Nuttall, Man. Orn. Vol. 1, 

 p. 194. Richardson, F. B. A. Vol 2, p. 285. Audubon, B. of Am. Vol. 4, p. 58, pi. 

 221. Peabody, Birds of Mass. p. 285. 



Q. id., Purple Grakle. Giraud, Birds of Long island, p. 145. 



Characteristics. Glossy black. Tail much rounded, reaching nearly three inches beyond 

 the wings. Bony keel within the bill large. Female, resembling the 

 male, but less brilliant. Young, brown. Length, 12-13 inches. 



Description. Bill sinuous on the margin. Tail long and rounded. Plumage of the male 

 glossy ; the head, neck and front of the breast blackish, with metallic, violet, steel-blue and 

 green. Back, rump and belly with coppery hues. Wings and tail black, with green and 

 bluish reflections. 



Length, 12-0-13-0. Alar spread, 18-0-19-0. 



The Common Crow Blackbird is well known, and dreaded by our farmers for its attacks 

 on the indian corn. They appear with us about the second week in April ; but from causes 

 not yet understood, they seem to have abandoned certain districts where they formerly 

 appeared in great and destructive numbers. In the southern or Atlantic district of this 



