172 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 211 



The nests of the bicolored blackbird are usually built in tules at 

 various heights above standing water. A typical nest of this race 

 is thus described by Grinnell and Storer (1924): 



The nest consists of three parts: (1) An outer loosely woven framework of tule 

 leaves fastened to the standing (dead) stems and growing leaves oi the tule thicket. 

 The attachment of this outer framework to the tules is very loose, an arrangement 

 which undoubtedly saves some nests from being tipped over when one side is at- 

 tached to growing tules and the other to a dead stem. (2) Next comes the body 

 of the nest, a firm structure comprising some tules, but chiefly of finer material. 

 This material is worked in while wet, either while it is green or, perhaps, after it 

 has been taken to the stream-side and moistened. Some foxtail grass of the 

 current season and still partly green was incorporated in this layer of one of the 

 nests examined. Some of the material, in the particular nest here described, had 

 a coating of green algae suggesting that tules broken down into the water had 

 been used. This middle, wet-woven layer when dried and ready for use is so 

 strong as not to break on moderate pressure with the hands. This is the important 

 structural element in the nest. (3) Finally there is an inner lining of fine dry 

 grass stems of the previous year's growth. The fibers of this layer are chiefly 

 interwoven with each other, but some extend into the middle layer and hold the 

 two layers together. This inner layer forms the soft lining on which the eggs 

 and later the newly hatched young rest. Later still it gives a holdfast for the 

 sharp claws of the growing young who can thus secure themselves against being 

 tumbled out of the nest during high winds or when the nest is beset by marauders. 



On this point they say that "a single young bird, nearly fledged, was 

 found in one of the nests examined at Lagrange. When an effort 

 was made to lift this bird from the nest, he clung tenaciously to it 

 and each of his sharp claws had to be released in turn from the lining 

 material. Later, when released over dry ground, he flew in a direct 

 line toward the nearest patch of green, a willow tree, and the instant 

 he touched the foliage he seized the latter with clenching claws and 

 hung there until disengaged again. " 



Eggs. — Four eggs seems to be the usual number for the bicolored 

 redwing; sets of five are rare, and Grinnell and Storer (1924) report 

 one set of six. They say: "The ground color of the eggs is pale blue, 

 and the scattered markings of dark brown or black, chiefly at the 

 larger end of the egg, consist of dots, spots, streaks, and lines, the 

 latter often running around the pole of the egg." Bendire (1895) 

 says: "The average measurement of forty-four specimens in the 

 United States National Museum Collection is 24.07 by 17.35 milli- 

 metres, or about 0.95 by 0.68 inch. The largest egg in the series 

 measures 26.42 by 17.78 millimetres, or 1.04 by 0.70 inches; the 

 smallest, 21.34 by 16.76 millimetres, or 0.84 by 0.66 inch." 



Food. — F. E. L. Beal (1910) made a comprehensive study of the 

 food of the bicolored redwing based on the examination of 198 stomachs 

 collected in every month in the year. The food was found to consist 

 of 14 percent animal matter and 86 percent vegetable matter. The 

 greatest amount of animal food, insects, was eaten in May, amounting 



