March 



stork knoweth her appointed time, in the 

 words of the prophet, so does the purple 

 grackle, or crow-blackbird ; and, punctual to 

 its appointment, it arrived in the Park from the 

 south on the 13th. This is a sort of refined 

 crow, about a foot long, with glossy black 

 plumage glistening with metallic tints of blue, 

 purple, violet, and bronze. 



Walking among the leafless trees, one hears a 

 cracked and wheezy whistle, and, looking about, 

 discovers, at the summit of a high tree, its form 

 sharply outlined against the sky, this not alto- 

 gether welcome arrival — the grackle. Its posi- 

 tion tallies with its disposition, holding itself 

 aloof in evident dislike and suspicion of man- 

 kind, — and mankind warmly reciprocates the 

 sentiment. Its iridescent colors gleam richly in 

 the sunlight ; but at close range it is a bit un- 

 canny, with its staring, yellowish eye. It is a 

 very gregarious bird, often found in large flocks, 

 and has a varied diet, which makes it somewhat 

 beneficial, but still more injurious, to husbandry, 

 and it has the crow's disreputable habit of feed- 

 ing upon the eggs and young of other birds. 



As a songster (for scientifically it is one of the 

 song-birds) it is a most dismal failure. All the 

 ills that ever attacked a singer's larynx seem con- 



S7 



