RUSTY BLACKBIRD 187 



Nest, in trees, bulky. Eggs, bluish-green, olive, or brownish, 

 speckled and spotted with brown. 



The Rusty Blackbird (rusty only in the autumn) is a 

 common migrant through New York and New England, 

 from the middle of March to the first week of May, and 

 again from the end of September through October, or in the 

 vicinity of New York city until December. It breeds to 

 some extent in the northern and extreme eastern counties 

 of Maine. The Rusty Blackbird is as fond of wet places as 

 the Red-wing ; it is generally found in small flocks near 

 marshes and at the borders of water-courses. Like the Red- 

 wing, it visits to some extent the dry hillsides, particularly 

 in the fall. 



When seen at a distance, and in flight, it is almost im- 

 possible to distinguish between this bird and the Red-wing, 

 unless the split or squeaking whistle of the Rusty is heard. 

 This is its song, corresponding to the coiigaree of the Red- 

 wing ; it is heard both in spring and fall. The species also 

 has a chuck practically indistinguishable from that of the 

 Red-wing, and has the same trick of jerking its tail upward 

 when perched. When seen near to, the absence of any mark 

 on the shoulder should distinguish the Rusty ; the tail, 

 though slightly rounded, can hardly be confused with the 

 long, extremely rounded tail of the Bronzed Grackle. The 

 surest mark by which the Rusty may be distinguished from 

 the Red-wing, if one can get near enough, is the white eye. 

 The female might be confused with the female Cowbird, 

 but in most cases the latter would not occur in the wet 

 places affected by the former ; moreover the Cowbird's bill 

 is shorter. The female Red-wing is heavily streaked. A 

 Rusty Blackbird in autumn might be mistaken for a male 

 Cowbird, but the rusty is much more widely distributed in 

 the former, extending well down the back, and the bill is 

 longer and sharper. 



