RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. 



498. Agelaius phceniceus. 9^ inches. 



Male black, with scarlet and buff shoulders ; female 

 brownish black above and streaked below. Nearly all 

 our ponds or wet meadows have their pair or colony of 

 Blackbirds. 



Note. — A harsh cack; a pleasing liquid song, '*conk- 

 err-ee," given with much bowing and spreading of the 

 wings and tail. 



Nest. — Usually at low elevations in bushes, in swamps 

 or around the edges of ponds, or frequently on the 

 ground or on hummocks in wet pastures. The nest is 

 made of woven grasses and rushes, and is usually partial- 

 ij suspended from the rim wdien placed in bushes. The 

 three to five eggs are bluish white, scrawled, chiefly 

 around the large end, with blackish (1.00 x .70). 



Range. — East of the Rockies, breeding north to Mani- 

 toba and New Brunswick; winters in southern U. S. 



Sub-species. — 498b. Bahaman Redwing (bryanti). 

 498c. Florida Redwing (floridanus). 

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