412 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 211 



of the body untouched. Presumably this behavior was brought about 

 by the lack of other accessible food, as a result of the snowstorm. 

 While the killing of birds for food is not unusual, in a number of cases it 

 has seemed that the killing of birds and destruction of their nests and 

 eggs was purely an act of destruction. 



In striking contrast to this type of behavior is a case reported by 

 Wilson Baillairge (1930) in which a bronzed grackle served as a foster 

 parent to chipping sparrows at St. Michel, Quebec, Canada. He 

 writes : 



I frequently noticed a pair of Bronzed Grackles about the house. Whenever 

 we went on the gallery the female Grackle flew from branch to branch in a near-by 

 tree, scolding noisily. I looked for her nest but could not find it, but did find a 

 Chipping Sparrow's nest containing three young, in a grape vine trained along 

 the gallery. I was surprised not to see any sign of the parent Chipping Sparrows, 

 and watched the nest carefully.* * * Finally, I saw the female Grackle go to the 

 nest and feed the young Chipping Sparrows; she fed them three or four times in 

 my presence, not more than a few feet from me. That afternoon one of the young 

 Chipping Sparrows flew from the nest to a tree nearby, and was followed by the 

 female Bronzed Grackle, which showed every sign of maternal anxiety." 



Francis H. Allen (MS.) reveals the resourcefulness of this bird under 

 unusual conditions: "For at least two years a male grackle that spent 

 its summers on or near the Boston Public Garden lived and throve 

 with a malformed bill that interfered with feeding in the normal way. 

 The upper mandible was about twice as long as the lower, which ap- 

 peared to be normal length. It was also decurved and flattened and 

 had a squarish tip. When feeding on the ground the bird had to turn 

 its head to one side to pick up its food, though no such accommodation 

 was necessary when it picked insects from the top of the grass. Prob- 

 ably no bird less hardy and less resourceful than a grackle could have 

 survived so long with such a handicap. 



"On one occasion I saw a grackle get completely under a newspaper 

 lying on the ground in the Boston Public Garden, for the purpose of 

 feeding. Each time the paper, or part of it, was raised considerably 

 from the ground. This illustrates the enterprising character of the 

 grackle." 



Grackles have been seen anointing their plumage with the juices 

 of certain fruits, and with acid or pungent substances derived from 

 the hulls of fruits and nuts. Certain birds are well known to use ants 

 for this purpose, a behavior called anting. This term has come to be 

 generally applied to cases where other substances are used. The 

 purpose of this act is not clear although a number of theories, for 

 example, to repel parasites, have been advanced. 



Mr. H. R. Ivor (1941) has observed the bronzed grackle going 

 through the performance of "anting" with choke cherries. He has 

 seen none of the many other birds he has observed "anting" use this 



