ICTERID^ 



265 



and gardens. They arc fond of corn and otlicr 

 grains and, while many shot on the cornfields 

 have had their crops full of insects, they com- 

 monly devour Indian corn in all its stages. At 

 night they roost in marshes or in the button 

 bushes and other vegetation growing about the 

 edges of open water holes in river meadows. 

 There they gather in large numbers, coming in 

 toward du.'^k in small Hocks and roosting, often 

 in comi)any witli ivcd-wingcd blackbirds and 

 Cowbirds. 



They are among the last of the I'lackbirds to 

 go South and sometimes small flocks remain in 

 southern Xew Kngland well into the winter 

 months. In the South they often frequent rice 

 plantations and cornfields but many retire to 

 the swampy retreats of the Gulf States until the 

 approach of the vernal equinox arouses again 



the longing which bids llu-m seek llie home of 

 their nativity. 



Edwakij Howe Foubusii. 



In the spring the Rusty Blackbird can be 

 found in swampy places wading along the shal- 

 low edges of streams and pools. Here he feeds 

 mostly on insects, but eats weed seeds and waste 

 gr;iin. lie eats numerous water-beetles and their 

 larvae, snout-beetles, leaf beetles, May-beetles, 

 and great numbers of other beetles, nearly all of 

 which are harmfid. In the autumn he frequents 

 cornfields, stubblefields. and beech woods, eat- 

 ing the same kinds of food as in the spring, but 

 probably the percentage of insects is even higher. 

 He eats but little wheat, oats, or corn except the 

 waste in fields and the allegation that he pulls 

 up sprouting grain has not been proved. 



BREWER'S BLACKBIRD 

 Euphagus cyanocephalus (U'ayler) 



.•\. O. U. Number 510 



General Description. — Length, 10 Indies. Male, 

 black; female, brownish-slate. Bill, shorter than head, 

 and narrow ; wing, long and pointed ; tail, nearly as 

 long as wing, moderately rounded. 



Color. — Adult M.\le : Entirely black, the head and 

 neck strongly glossed with violet, the rest of the 

 plumage with blui.sh-green ; more highly glossed in 

 winter plumage ; bill, black ; iris, pale yellow. Adult 

 Female: Head, neck, and under parts, brownish- 

 slate color, faintly glossed with greenish on under parts 

 of body and with violet on head and neck, especially 

 on crown and hindneck ; upper parts darker, especially 

 wings and tail, which are more strongly glossed with 

 bluish-green; liill, black; iris, light yellow. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Usually low, sometimes 30 



feet up in trees or bushes; often in large colonies; con- 

 structed with a rough, coarse foundation of twigs, plant 

 stalks, bark, and rootlets mi.xed and held together with 

 manure or mud, and lined with finer similar materials 

 with the addition of horse- or cow-hair. Eggs: 5 to 8, 

 usually 5. dull greenish-white or gray profusely marked 

 with erratic streaks and large blotches of sepia. 



Distribution. — Western United States and British 

 provinces and greater part of Mexico; north to British 

 Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (l)reed- 

 ing) ; east to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma 

 and Texas, occasionally, during migration, to Iowa, 

 Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Louisiana, and even South 

 Carolina; breeding south to Lower California, southern 

 Te.xas ; in winter over the whole of Mexico to Guatemala. 



Handsomest of all the Blackbird race is 

 Brewer's Blackbird with his glossy black coat 

 shimmering in the sunlight with reflections of 

 pur])Ie, blue, and green. And he does not hide 

 his beauty in some woodland solitude, but comes 

 around the barn-yards where he exhibits very 

 domineering manners toward the fowls. His 

 principal nesting places are in the unsettled dis- 

 tricts, in the trees or around the edges of 

 marshes. Often, however, he builds in the trees 

 near farmhouses. Like other Blackbirds, he 

 nests in colonies, but these colonies are mtich 

 smaller, the usual number of families being five 

 to ten. 



The love song of this beautiful bird is a rather 



ludicrous attem]jt at nuisic making. Tuck-tuck- 

 qsi! tnck-ttick-qsi! is one observer's translation 

 of his sputtering plea. But the little lady in dull 

 brownish-slate always seems much pleased with 

 it and soon starts the building of the home. Dur- 

 ing this operation he shows her a great deal of 

 personal courtesy, but he seems to think it would 

 be beneath his dignity to lend a hand — or rather 

 a beak — to aid her labors. 



When fruit is ripe the Brewer's Blackbirds do 

 not hesitate to take a share, and they visit the 

 orchard daily for the early cherries. They claim 

 a share of grain also, but do not appear to eat 

 it at harvest time so much as afterwards. Mr. 

 ^^'alter K. Fisher, writing from Stockton, Calif., 



