218 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



The Crow Blackbird nests in various situations, sometimes in low bushes, 

 more f'ret^uently in trees, and at various heights. A pair, tor several years, 

 liad tlicir nest on the top ol' a high fir-tree, some sixty feet from the ground, 

 standing a few feet Ironi my front door. Thongli narrowly watched by un- 

 friendly eyes, no one could detect them in auy miscliief Xot a spear of corn 

 was molesteil, and their food was exclusively insects, for winch they dili- 

 gently searched, turning over chi]js, jiieces of wood, and loose stones. Tlieir 

 nests are large, coarsely but strongly made of twigs and dry plants, inter- 

 wiiveu with strong stems of grasses. When the Fish Hawks build in their 

 neighborhood, Wilson states that it is a frecpent occurrence for the Grakles 

 to place their nests in the interstices of those of the former. Some- 

 times several pairs make use of the same Hawk's nest at the same time, 

 living ill singular amity with its owner. Mr. Audubon speaks of finding 

 these birds geuerally breeding in the hollows of trees. I have never met 

 with their nests in these situations, liut Mr. William Brewster says he has 

 found thi'm nesting in this numner in the northern part of Maine. Both, 

 howe\"er, jirobably refer to the var. (vnais. 



The eggs of the Grakle e.xhibit great variations in their ground-color, 

 varying from a light greenisli-wliite to a deep rusty-brown. The former is 

 the more common color. The eggs are marked with large dashes and broad, 

 irregular streaks of black and dark brown, often presenting a singular gro- 

 tesqueness in then- shapes. Eggs with a deep brown ground are usually 

 marked chiefly aboiit the larger end with conHuent, cloudy blotches of deeper 

 shades of the same. Tlie eggs measure 1.25 inches by .90. 



Var. rcneUS, RlDGWAY. 



BRONZED GBAKLE. 



Qaismlas versicolor, AuD. Oin. Biog. pi. ™ ; Birds Am. IV, j)l. ccxxi (figure, but uol 

 description). — Baiud, Birds N. Am. 1858, 555 (western speoinieus). — Samuels, 352. 

 Quiscalus mncus, ElDGW.w, Pr. Pliil. Acad., June, 1869. 134. 



Sp. Cn.\R. Length, 12.50 to 13.50; wing, 6.00; tail, 6.00; milmen, 1.26; tarsus, 1.32. 



Third and fourth quills longest and 

 equal ; first shorter than fifth ; projec- 

 tion of primaries beyond secondaries, 

 1.28 ; graduation of tail, 1.48. 



Metallic tints rich, deeii. and uni- 

 form. Head and nock all round rich 

 silky steel-blue, this strictly confined 

 to these portions, and abruptly de- 

 fined behind, varying in shade from 

 an intense Prussian blue to brassy- 

 Var. a-neus. greenish, the latter tint always, when 



present, most apparent on the neck, the head always more violaceous; lores velvety- 

 black. Entire body, above and below, uniform continuous metallic bras.sy-olive, varying 



