Red-winged Blackbird 307 



sometimes paling to almost white at the tips ; iris brown, bill and legs 

 black. Length 8-25 ; wing 4-8 ; tail 3-5 ; tarsus 1-05 ; culmen -80. 



In winter the buff of the middle wing-coverts is somewliat deeper 

 in tone, and the scapulars are narrowly edged with rusty. 



The female is smaller than the male (wing about 3-8), and is brown 

 above, slightly streaked with white, especially on the head ; below white 

 tinged with pale salmon or buff on the chin, and streaked with dusky 

 brown. In winter the upper-parts are more conspicuously marked 

 with white and rusty-brown. 



Young birds are very similar to the summer female, but the marking 

 above is more conspicuous, while the male is larger and soon shows 

 traces of his red shoulders before losing his stripy coat. 



The above description applies to the rather smaller race breeding 

 in Colorado, and considered by Ridgway to be identical with the original 

 eastern type-form of the species. Oberholser (07) considers that the 

 Colorado breedmg bird should be separated from the eastern form imder 

 the name of A. phceniceua fortis, while the Colorado winter birds are 

 believed to be a different race, breeding further north and named 

 A. phceniceus arctolegus. Until the definite decision of the A.O.U. 

 Committee on this point has been given, I have followed Ridgw-ay in 

 this matter. In the meantime, Rockwell (08, p. 93) records a third 

 subspecies, A. p. neutralis, among the visiting bu'ds in Colorado, and 

 according to the third edition of the Checklist the two Colorado fonns 

 are A. p. fortis breeding in the north-east of the State, and A. p. 

 neutralis elsewhere. 



Distribution. — Breeding throughout the eastern United States and 

 corresponding southern portion of the Dominion of Canada from the 

 Atlantic to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. 



In Colorado the Red-winged Blackbird is a common summer resident 

 chiefly on the eastern plains and foothills, but occurring and perhaps 

 even breeding up to 9,000 feet occasionally ; the highest definite 

 breeding record seems to be Kellogg's (Estes Park, about 8,000 feet), 

 while Warren noted them near Crested Butte at 9,000 feet in June 

 and October. 



This bird arrives early from the south, generally about the middle 

 of March, but does not commence nesting operations until about a 

 month or six weeks later ; it departs again for the south in October. 

 It is possible some individuals may winter in the State, but most of 

 those so doing appear to be referable to the following subspecies. 



From the following localities there are records : Estes Park (Kellogg), 

 Weld CO. (Markman), Boulder co. (Minot & Henderson), Denver 

 (Allen), South and Middle Parks (Carter), El Paso, Teller, Lincoln and 

 Fremont cos. (Aiken), Gunnison and Prowers cos. (Warren), San Luis 

 Lakes (Aiken), and Mesa co. (Rockwell). 



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