?40 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



feed to some extent on small grains, but I have 

 not seen any evidence of that here. In New 

 Jersey in the month of June they seemed to prefer 

 the cherry trees to the wheat fields, and did not 

 appear to molest the wheat at all. A few gar- 

 deners claim that they pull sprouting corn and 

 peas. 



Mr. Alfred C. Kinsey writes that he noticed 

 the parent birds supplying nestlings with what 

 proved to be the staminate flowers of the hickory. 



Later on, in dififerent localities, the same peculi- 

 arity was noticed. If such feeding becomes ex- 

 tensive, it will bring about a failure of nut crops. 

 He has also noticed these birds on grape vines 

 and in trees wantonly tearing off large pieces of 

 leaves, as well as doing damage to various fruit 

 crops. Some observers assert that the Starling 

 also destroys the buds of trees, but I have been 

 unable to get definite evidence on this point. 

 Edward Howe Forbush, in The Starling. 



ICTERID^ 



Order Passercs ; suborder Oscines ; family IcteridcB 



SATISFACTORY vernacularname for this family is wanting. The group has 

 been known by the name of Hangnests, but only certain members build 

 pensile nests. From the superficial resemblance of a small percentage of 

 its members to the Old World Orioles and Starlings, the family has been 

 known as the American Orioles or American Starlings. Other names which 

 have been used, as Crackle, Crow Blackbird, etc., are equally non-distinctive 

 or of limited pertinence. Robert Ridgway says the name Troupial, derived 

 from the French troupe and referring to their habit of flocking, has more 

 general applicability than any other term. 



In this family the bill varies greatly as to relative length and thickness, 

 but is never conspicuously longer than the head and always more or less 

 conical and sharp; the outlines are usually nearly straight, but sometimes the tip curves 

 downward. The nostrils are never concealed although sometimes the membrane immediately 

 behind them is covered. The bristles at the corners of the mouth are altogether obsolete or 

 but very faintly developed. The wing is extremely variable, but usually the tip is moderately 

 extended and terminates abruptly. The tail is variable as to relative length, form of tip, 

 and shape of the feathers; it is always more than half as long as the wing but never con- 

 spicuously longer than the wing, never forked nor notched and is usually rounded, some- 

 times double-rounded, and occasionally graduated and folded like a fan ; usually the tail- 

 feathers, which always number twelve, are of nearly equal width throughout, but sometimes 

 they are wider at the tips and sometimes narrower; in one species, the Bobolink, they 

 abruptly taper to a point and are rigid at the tips. 



The IcteridcB comprise birds of most various habits. Some live among the trees, and 

 if placed upon the ground they are almost incapable of progression ; others are terrestrial ( though 

 frequently alighting on trees and sometimes nesting there) and walk upon the ground with 

 the grace and dignity of a Crow; many inhabit reedy marshes, and these usually nest in 

 colonies, building open cup-shaped nests attached to the upright stems of water plants. 

 The Orioles build pensile or hanging nests attached to the branches of trees but do not live 

 in colonies. 



Many species are remarkable either for the fullness and richness or other remarkable 

 character of their notes, some of them being songsters of high merit, while others utter only 

 the most harsh and discordant sounds. The Cowbirds are parasitic, like the English Cuckoo, 

 always laying their eggs in the nests of other birds. The plumage varies from uniform 

 black (sometimes with brilliant metallic gloss) or somber brown to the most showy com- 

 binations of yellow, orange, or scarlet, and black. 



The group is peculiar to America and belongs particularly to the tropical part and to 

 South America and the adjacent islands. Nearly one hundred and fifty species are known, 

 of which by far the greater number are represented only in South America. 



