150 



KEY" AND DESCRIPTION 



Length, 8|-10t ; wing, 4^-5| ; tail, ^>]-4\ ; tarsus, 1] ; culmen, ^. West- 

 ern North America from the Mains to the Pacific. Accidental in Illinois. 



10. Purple Grackle (511. Qulscalus quiscula). — A common, 

 large, iride.scent blackbird, with brilliant metallic reflections of 

 greens and blues, arranged in bars on the back, nuup, and belly. 

 The female is much duller, but still a blackbird and somewhat 



I iridescent. This is a 

 oomy bird with 

 crackling notes which 

 can hardly be called 

 a song. (Crow Black- 

 bird. ) 



Ltngth, 11-131 ; wing, 

 il-C); tail, 4J-6^ gradu- 

 ated, 1} ; tarsus, 1^ ; cul- 

 men, 1 J. Mainly east of 

 the Alleghanies; breeding 

 north to Ma.ssachusetts, 

 and wintering from New 

 Jersey south. The Flor- 

 ida Grackle (51 1». Q. q. 

 aijIa'Ks) of the southern 

 portion of Gulf States, 

 from Florida to Texas, is 

 smaller and the head is decidedly violet-purple by reflections, and the 

 back a rich green. The iridescent bars are not so distinct, though readily 

 recognized. The female differs from the last only in being smaller. 

 Length, 10-12; wing, 5-5?; tail, 4.1-5^ ; culmen, 1}. The Bronzed 

 Grackle (oil**. Q. 7. (vneus) of the region east of the Rocky Mountains 

 to the Alleghanies, north to Newfoundland and Great Slave Lake, and 

 south to Texas, differs from the purple grackle more in the lack of iridt.s- 

 cent bars on the bronze-colored back than in any other feature. The female 

 is almost witliDUt metallic reflections and never has the iridescent bars. 



11. Great-tailed Grackle (512. Qulscalus macroitrus). — A 

 very large, long-tailed, glossy-black bird with metallic-violet 

 tints over the head, breast, back, and wing coverts, but without 

 iridescent bars. Female a dark brown with metallic-greenish 

 gloss on the back ; the head almost without gloss. 



Length, 11^-181; wing, 6f-8 ; tail, 5|-9| ; culmen, 1]-1|. Eastern 

 Texas to Central America. 



Purple Grackle 



