SONG-BIRDS. Red-winged Blackbird 



Red' winged Blackbird : Agelaius phoeniceus, 



Plate 36. 



Length : Very variable ; 8.25-9.85 inches. 



3fale : Rich blue-black ; scarlet shoulders, edged with yellow. 



Female: Finely speckled with rusty black, brown, and orange. 



Shoulders obscurely orange-red. 

 Song : A rich, juicy note, — " Oucher-la-ree-6 ! " 

 Season : Late March to October. Sometimes winters. 

 Breeds : Through summer range. 

 Nest : A bulky pocket hung between reeds or stems of alders, etc. ; 



made of rush blades and grass, and lined with finer grasses. 

 Eggs : 4-6, light blue, fancifully marked with lines, dots, and patches 



of black and lilac. 

 Range : North America in general, from Great Slave Lake south to 



Costa Rica. 



As a summer resident the Ked-winged Blackbird is a 

 familiar sight in low meadows and along roadsides. At a 

 little distance he appears to be only a plain, black bird, but 

 as he extends his wings his brilliant epaulets come into 

 prominence. The plumage of the female, though, incon- 

 spicuous, is singularly beautiful when seen at close range. 

 It looks like a fabric of which the warp is black and the 

 woof a twisted thread of brown and yellow. The Ked- 

 wings are essentially early birds, often returning in spring 

 when their marshy haunts are still frozen over. Their 

 vocalization is suggestive of cool, moist ground and hidden 

 springs ; it continues until late July, and is briefly renewed 

 in October. The deep nest is half hung, half twined 

 between the stems of marsh-growing plants, and often 

 holds two broods of a season; the boggy location chosen 

 serves to protect it quite thoroughly from human invaders. 



This Blackbird's clear notes are associated with those of 

 the Meadowlark, as they are both early singers and are 

 found in similar places. They are useful birds to the agri- 

 culturist, as they are great destroyers of cutworms. They 

 are sometimes polygamous, though as frequently seen in 

 pairs ; being very gregarious birds, many nests are usually 

 found in the same locality. 



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