314 BIRDS OF ILMNOIB. 



white, broadly otroiikod with ilusky. the i-hln. und thrnnt. BometlmoA Bides of hend aliii>. 

 iiRiially' morp orli'sstliiBcdwIthbuff or pink. LosBcrwInjc-covortMsoniollmesdark brown 

 red. Total lenitth ifresh). 7.4.V8.3r.; extent. 12.li-lS.00. ■•firnl pliimagi-.U-maU: Above 

 diirk seiil-brown; every feather i«f tlie crown, nape ami Interiioapular region, with thi- 

 createrand mlcUlle winc-eoverts. prIniarleH. spi'ondarleH.and tertlarlep.edi:edand tipped 

 with brownish fulvous. Beneath Hiiht yellowlsh-brown. thickly and broiully Blreoked 

 ever>'where with dull black. Sides of throat und head. Including a eonsidenible space 

 around the eye, bare skin (of a brownish oraniie color In the dried speelmenl. with a few 

 scatterInK pin-feathers. iFroni a .specimen In my collei'tlon obtained at Cambrldi;e. 

 Mass.. June 24. 1OT2.) Males in llrst plumage, before rao, differ but little from the Indivi- 

 dual above described. .Ml have the bare spaces on the sides of the tlin .at. although these 

 are feathered before the first moult Is bcKtin. X male In transitional dress (culleeted at 

 Ipswich, Mass., July l.l.lKTti. with the head fully feathered, has the throat dull brownish 

 yellow, with a stronc tlnRc of the same color on the breast. The wInB and tail-feathers 

 are renewed during the first moult. 



".•l«(i/»iMii/;)/Hnin(7e; young male. Crown dark brown, with a faint rusty edclng 

 upon each feather; nape brownish yellow, with a rusty tinge, finely spotted with a dark 

 brown; Interscapular region, ami a broad outer edging upun the secondaries and tertia- 

 rles,doep dull reddlsli-brown,each feather having a broad V-shaped mark of dull blai'k. 

 nump glossy black. every feather edged with fulvous ashy; shouhier dull red with black 

 spotting; middle coverts fulvou.s; greater covort,s tipped with the same color. Super- 

 ciliary stripe brownish yellow. .\ space anterior to and beneath the eye dusky black. 

 Entire under parts black, each feather upon the abdomen edged broadly with pale ashy, 

 elsewhere with yellowish brown. The light edging of the feathers gives the under parts 

 a conspicuously scutellate appearance. (From a specimen In my collection taken at 

 Cambridge. Mass.. October 6,1776.1 This plumage (although not to my knowledge pre- 

 viously described by writersi Is the characteristic one of the young In autumn. I am uo- 

 able to state if the adult male retains his uniform black coloring at all seasons. .V re- 

 markable variation from the typical plumage is afforded by a fine adult male In my 

 cabinet, which has a broad ereseentic patch of pah' yellow tinged with rose-color upon 

 the breast. Nor is this specimen unbiue. tor I have seen several others with a similar 

 but less conspicuous mark. It probably represents an e.xceptionally high condition or 

 phase of ornamentation, like the commoner one of scarlet or yellow wing-markings, in 

 the Scarlet Tanagcr iPurnngn rubra). Very old females of .4. jiliivniceuK have the throat 

 a delicate peueh-color; illustrated by several specimens In my cabinet from Nantucket 

 and Ipswltch.Mass." (Brewster. Bull. yull. Oru. n»f«.Oct..lS78,p. 17.1.1 



The common l^ed-winged Blackbird is one of our most alnmdant 

 and best known birds. Every marsh and open swamp is inhabited 

 by numbers in the spring and summer, while in autumn they col- 

 lect in large flocks, sometimes of such extent as to cause serious 

 damage to the farmer's grain stacks. In the extreme southern por- 

 tion of the State they sometmies winter, congregating in large flocks, 

 from w hich they daily sally forth to forage over the surrounding country. 

 Even during the spring and summer the Redwings are gregarious, 

 for they breed in communities, hundreds of pairs sometimes nesting 

 in one marsh. The males are polygamous, each having under his 

 protection from two to three or four demure looking females, hardly 

 half his size, and dressed in homely garb, who attend quietly and 

 assiduously to their domestic duties, wliile their lord and master 



