I("1"i-:rii)/E 



267 



only a com]wratively small number that arc use- 

 ful. As to fruit, nu more is eaten than may he 

 considered a fair return for the destruction of 

 insects. The weed seed eaten must be set down 

 to the bird's credit. .All C|uestions, tlieii, in regard 

 to its economic position must rest upon the grain 

 it eats. Most of the grain is taken in the 

 months from August to February, inclusive. 



The average amount consumed in tliose seven 

 months is over 75 per cent, of the food, while 

 the average for the other five months is less 

 than 24 ])er cent., yet this last jjeriod covers the 

 lime from sowing to the end of harvest. It has 

 a decided ])arliality for oats, and if ajjimdanl 

 would tmdoubtcdiy jjrove a menace to the crop. 



J. Ellis Bukuick. 



PURPLE CRACKLE 



Quiscalus quiscula quiscula ( Liiuunis) 



A. O. U. Number 511 .Sec Color I'latc 74 



Other names. — Rlarkbird ; Crow Blackbird : New 

 Knglaiid jackdaw; Maize Thief; Keel-tailed Grackle ; 

 Purple Jackilaw. 



General Description. — LeiiKtli. u'/S inches. Phim- 

 age, black with metallic hues. Bill, about as Iohr as 

 head and decurved at tip ; tail, long and graduated. 

 The tail is plicate, or capable of being folded vertically, 

 so that a transverse section is V'-shaped. the two edges 

 being brought near together when flying; because of 

 this folding and the graduated form of the tip, the effect, 

 when the bird is flying, is very peculiar, the tail appear- 

 ing as if much longer on one side than on the other. 



Color. — .'\i)ri.T M.\le: Head, neck, and chest, vary- 

 ing in color from metallic reddish-violet to golden-green ; 

 prevailing color of back and shoulders varying from 

 bronzy-purple to metallic olive-green, but this always 

 is broken by bars of metallic green, blue-bronze, or 

 purple (or all of these tints) ; rump varying in color 

 from purplish-bronze to violet; prevailing color of 

 wings, violet or purple ; the lesser and middle coverts 

 usually banded with i)urple, blue, green, or golden ; tail, 

 dark purple, violet, blue or green, or (in worn or faded 

 plumage) black glossed with one of these colors; under 

 parts (posterior to chest), metallic purple, violet, blue, 



or green, the color varying in different parts, sometimes 

 mixed with golden bronze ; bill, black ; iris, pale yellow 

 or yellowish-white. Adult Female: Decidedly smaller 

 than the male and much duller in color, the metallic 

 hues more subdued, sometimes very faint. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Built preferably in a coni- 

 fer, placed on a bough but often in fork formed by 

 topmost whorl of branches; sometimes in hollows or 

 cavities of trees near water; a loose, bulky structure of 

 twigs, hay, and grains, frequently cemented with mud. 

 I'rom Kent, Conn., comes the report of the finding of 

 the nest of this bird in the rushes of a marsh, a very 

 unusual site. Eggs: 4 to 6. greatly varying in size and 

 color; ground color greenish, blue to dirty brown, 

 strongly marked with blotches and zigzag streaks or 

 lines of brown and black. 



Distribution. — Atlantic coast district of United 

 States, east of .Alleghenies ; north to lower Hudson 

 valley and northern shore of Long Island Sound ; 

 breeding south to uplands of Alabama, Georgia and 

 the Carolinas, to Virginia (?) along the coast; occa- 

 sional on western side of .Mleghenies, in eastern 

 Tennessee; winters niainlv south of the Delaware 

 Valley. 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher 



PURPLE GRACKLE ( ', nat. size) 

 Handsome, picturesque, and popular despite his bad habits 



