TRICOLORED REDWING 187 



During the month of March great hordes of Tricolored Blackbirds fly north- 

 ward in what is evidently a local migration. Every morning, from daylight until 

 after sunrise, they pass over at frequent intervals; sometimes half a dozen birds 

 together and again in large compact flocks. If the weather is clear they fly at a 

 height of over a hundred feet from the ground, but on foggy mornings they whiz 

 along skimming just over the surface of the earth, in a flight that is very rapid 

 for blackbirds. At such times they are entirely silent, in surprising contrast 

 to the loose, straggling bands of Bicolors that go creaking along before dark on 

 many a fall evening. 



Dawson (1923) says: "The normal flock movement is in itself dis- 

 tinctive. The birds fly silently, with not so much as a rustle of wings; 

 and they pass close to the ground, or at most at an elevation of fifteen 

 or twenty feet. Each member of the flock rises and falls with each 

 recurrent effort of the wings, quite independently of his fellows; but 

 there is no vacillation or disposition to break away. Each bird is 

 solely and ominously intent upon 'getting there'." 



Voice. — Tyler (1913) evidently did not admire the song of the 

 tricolored redwing when he wrote: "I have yet to hear the bird that 

 can produce a more unmusical, strident series of notes than the 

 Tricolored Blackbird, and when two or three hundred unite to vocif- 

 erate in concert, the result absolutely defies all description — yet I 

 would willingly listen to them for hours. The very harshness seems 

 to appeal to a bird lover, when more musical bird songs would pass 

 as commonplace." 



Dawson (1927) describes the song as follows: "Instead of the hearty 

 konqueree, or the lively keyring of the swamp redwing, Agelaius 

 phoeniceus, we have, Look awaay choke, awaay awaay choke, or awaak 

 or chuaack choke, as though sound were being squeezed out of nearly 

 empty bellows. An anxious jup note reminds us rather of the crow 

 blackbird than of cousin phoeniceus; while, if we were to retire to the 

 oak-clad foothills, where belated courtships are still in progress, we 

 should hear the curious 'stomach-ache song' of the yellow-headed 

 blackbird only stopped down and subdued." 



According to Ralph Hoffmann (1927) : "The song of the Tricolored 

 Redwing lacks the liquid quality of the preceding species. The song 

 may bo written oh-kee-gudy-a, with a braying quality. The common 

 call note is a nasal kape." 



Field marks. — The adult male may easily be recognized by the 

 broad and conspicuous band of white, the median wing coverts, in 

 sharp contrast with the glossj 7 " black plumage and the dark red 

 "shoulders"; this shows plainly even when the bird is perched. The 

 female is darker than the females of the other neighboring redwings, 

 the lower parts from the breast posteriorly being solid dark, sooty 

 brown, almost black. Other details are described under plumages. 



