480 SrSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — PA SSERES — OSCINES. 



the relationship of Dives appears to be with Scolecophagus, and that of Macragelcpus with 

 Quiscalui^. 



SCOIjECO'PHAGUS. (Gr. (tkoKt]^, gen. (TKU)Kr)K09, scolex, scolecos, a worm : cpayos, phagos, 

 eating.) Kusty Grackles. Thrush Blackbirds. Bill shorter or not longer than head, 

 slender for the subfamily — somewhat like a Robin's, for instance; culmen little convex, if 

 any, except at decurved tip ; gonys slightly convex ; cutting edges inflexed ; commissure little 

 sinuated. Wings pointed, decidedly longer than nearly even tail ; point formed by outer 

 4 primaries. Tail much as in Agelceus in size and shape. Tarsus rather longer tlian middle 

 toe and claw. Lateral toes short, with moderate claws, scarcely or not reaching base of 

 middle claw. Nest in bushes. Eggs spotty, not veiny and streaky. 



All all/sis of Spfcies. 

 Smaller : wing under 5.00. Bill slender, thrush-like, (f greenish-black, including head. Sexes very unlike : $ quite 



rusty-brown, even with chestnut ; a light line over eye carolinus 



Larger : wing 5.00 or more. Bill stouter, more blackbird-like, (f greenish-black, head more violet. 9 subsimilar, 



sooty-brown ; no pale superciliary stripe cyanocephalus 



S. caroli'nus. (Lat. Carolinus, of or pertaining to Carolus, Charles (whether King Charles II. 

 of England or IX. of France), referring to the present N- or S- Carolina, name of which is 

 found in French as early as 1564; see CouES, Check List, 2d ed. 1882, p. 25.) Rusty 

 Grackle. Thrush Blackbird. Adult ^, in summer: One lustrous black with green 

 metallic reflections ; head not notably different from other parts in its iridescence. Bill and 

 feet black. Iris creamy or leratm. (Not ordinarily seen in the U. S. in this full dress — 

 usually with some rusty.) Length 9.00-9.50 ; extent 14.00-15.00 ; wing under 5.00 ; tail 

 4.00 or less ; bill 0.80, only about 0.35 deep at base ; tarsus 1.20 ; middle toe and claw less. 

 Adult 9 in summer : Slaty-blackish, duller below, with greenish reflections chiefly on wings 

 and tail ; in winter the upper parts overlaid with rich rusty-brown, and under parts with a 

 paler shade of the same; inner secondaries brown-edged; a whitey-brown streak over eye; 

 iris brown. Moderately smaller than J'. Young ^ at first resembles 9) but is larger, and 

 shows more decidedly lustrous black, especially on wings and tail. As usually found in flocks 

 in the U. S., in fall, winter, and early spring, young and old of both sexes are very rusty, 

 with light line over eye. E. N. Am., N. to Labrador and the Hudson Bay region, thence 

 N. W. to Alaska and Behring Sea ; in the U. S. extending W. regularly to the Dakotas, Ne- 

 braska, Indian Territory, and Texas, sparingly to the Rocky Mts., in these regions meeting 

 and mixing in the fall with the next species ; accidental in Greenland and Lower California. 

 Migratory, abundant ; in winter, more or less dispersed in the U. S. ; in summer, breeding from 

 N. New England, New York, and Michigan northward, in loose coh)nies, in swampy tangle. 

 Nest in bushes and low trees, of sticks and grasses mixed with moss and mud, lined with fine 

 grasses and rootlets; it is a firm, durable structure, quite bulky, 7 inches or more across out- 

 side, and 5 deep, with a cavity about 3.50 X 2.50. Eggs 4-5, usually 4, from 1.05 X 0.80 

 down to 0.90 X 0.70, dull greenish, bluish, or grayish white, flecked and mottled with dark 

 browns, but with little or no line-tracery, and thus resembling those of the Yellow-headed 

 rather than of the Red-winged or Crow Blackbird. Incubation is said to last 14 days, and 

 the young to leave the nest in 16 days; the nestling plumage is gray. (S. ferrngineus of most 

 writers, as of all former eds. of tlie Key; but Titrdus carolinus Mull., 1776, is prior to Oriolus 

 ferrugineiis Gm., 1788, and I am glad to be able to do away with a name which does not 

 apply to the adult ^ .) 



S. cyanoce'phaliis. (Gr. Kvavos, kuanos, Lat. c^anMS, blue ; (cec^aXij, Jcephale, head.) Blue- 

 headed Grackle. Brewer's Blackbird. Similar to the last, but quite a different bird, 

 type of the subgenus Ei(2)hagi(s (Cass. 1866). Adult (J, in summer: Very lustrous green- 

 black, as before, but with purple and violet iridescence, especially on head, where the violet or 

 steel-blue sheen contrasts with the general greenish hue. Bill and feet black. Iris creamy or 



