A SUMMER CHORUS 123 



length. The female is notably smaller. They 

 range over eastern North America, from the 

 Gulf of Mexico to Manitoba and New Bruns- 

 wick, and winter from Virginia southward. 



Rusty Blackbird. In late March, or early 

 April, you will see small bands of Rusty Black- 

 birds about the edges of swamps, bush-grown 

 banks of streams, and inland meadows. At first 

 they may puzzle you as to their identity, for 

 they are rather inconspicuous in color and arc 

 seen only for a short time when passing through 

 to nesting grounds in the North. The spring 

 dress of the male is a uniform, glossy black with 

 a bluish sheen in the sunshine. Later there 

 appears a rusty tinge, which gives the bird its 

 name. The female has a fine slate color above, 

 with the under parts somewhat duller. Both sexes 

 have pale straw-colored eyes like the Crackles. 

 Rusty Blackbirds are notably smaller than 

 Crackles, being about nine inches in length, the 

 approximate size of the Red-wing which they 

 resemble in flight and call notes. They breed 

 in colonies in swampy thickets that border 

 ponds and dead water streams. The nest is built 

 of sticks, moss and coarse grass, several feet 

 above the ground. Their feeding habits are 

 much like other Blackbirds, but there are no 

 grain fields to which they may resort. They 

 range in summer from the northern part of the 

 United States northward, wintering south of 

 Virginia. 



Purple Grackle. With the outpost of the 

 advancing army in March appears the Purple 

 Grackle, a bird whose reputation seems to be 



