Teachers' Leaflet. 631 



AA. Birds a little smaller than the robin. Plumage mostly black. 



b. Plumage bluish-black the feathers tipped with brownish or 

 yellowish, very glossy. Eyes pale yellow. Seen in New 

 York State during spring and fall migrations — Rusty 

 Blackbird. 

 bb. Plumage black with red and buff epaulets — Male Redwing. 

 bbb. Plumage black except head and neck which are coffee color 

 — ]\Iale Cowbird. 

 AAA. Birds smaller than robin with plumage grayish-brown above. 

 b. Under parts grayish — Female Cowbird. 

 bb. Underparts streaked with black and white. Shoulders red- 

 dish — Female Redwing. 



The Crackles or Crozv Black Birds. — There are two varieties of these in 

 New York State, the Purple and the Bronze Crackle, but it needs an expert to 

 tell them apart and such distinctions belong rather to ornithology rather than to 

 nature-study. The grackles are from two to three inches longer than the robin, 

 measuring in length twelve to thirteen and one-half inches. The males have the 

 head, neck, throat ^nd upper breast iridescent showing purple-green and blue 

 metallic colors. The wings and the tail are purplish or bluish-black. The females 

 are duller with back and under parts brownish and with less of the metallic colors 

 about the head and neck. The tail is long and wedged shape when spread, the 

 middle feathers being much longer than those at the side. The grackles come in 

 flocks early in the spring, sometimes appearing the last of February. They con- 

 tinue together while nesting. They build large, bulky- nests made from coarse 

 grass and twig? and prefer evergreen trees for their nesting sites. The eggs are 

 blue or greenish marked with brown. The grackles may often be seen walking 

 sedately on the ground, hunting for bugs, beetles, grubs and the like. 



The Rcd-iK'iiigcd Black Bird. — ■ This favorite may be easily distinguished from 

 the other black birds because of the bright red epaulets marked with buff, which 

 decorate the wings of tlie male. The female is streaked brown above and 

 streaked buff below with a yellow tinge at the throat. These birds are always 

 found about marshes. The male spreads his beautiful wings to show his epaulets 

 as he sings his liquid and delightful " Oh-ka-lee " or " Kong-quer-ree." The 

 males arrive three weeks before the females in the spring. The nest is made of 

 grasses and stalks of weeds lined with finer moss or roots and is placed in a low 

 bush or attached to reeds. The eggs are pale blue streaked and spotted with 

 purple or black. Seven-eighths of the food of the bird consists of weed seeds 

 and injui'iou-- insects. 



The Rusty Black Bird. — ^This is not as large as the robin; its plumage is 

 entirely bluish-black, the female being slate colored above and lighter below. The 

 tail featliers are nearly equal length and the tail is not, therefore, wedge-shaped, 

 like that of the grackle. The rusty lilack bird appears in small flocks from ]\Iarch 

 to May and again in September and October, usually haunting the marshes and 

 wet meadows. They nest from New Brunswick to Labrador. This species can 

 be distinguished from the grackle by its lack of iridescent colors and smaller size, 

 and from the red-wing by the lack of epaulets on the male and from the cow 

 bird bv its black color. It has a musical note. 



