26 



The Rusty Grackle. 



about the barnyard, standing on the fence, 

 or even walking sedately about among the 

 cattle, looking for insects or picking in the 

 straw in search of scattered grain. Some • 

 times they may be seen walking over the 

 plowed fields in search of insects in the 

 upturned earth. They are fond of berries, 

 too, and look along the borders of pools 

 and brooks for the water insects and crusta- 

 ceans, which constitute a considerable por- 

 tion of their food. 



The Rusty Grackles spend the winter in 

 the Southern States, and by the time the 

 winter is half over begin their slow journey 

 northward. We have seen them in New 

 York and Connecticut from the middle of 

 February until well into April, when they 

 disappear and do not return again until 

 September. During their stay with us in 

 spring, the males have assumed their hand- 

 some breeding plumage of rich glossy black, 

 and are thus much more beautiful than 

 when in their rusty autumnal dress. At this 

 season, they are much more noisy than in 

 autumn, and often give voice to a simple 

 but pleasant song. Now, too, they seem 

 to prefer swamps and wet places generally, 

 and are sometimes found associated with 

 the red-winged blackbird. 



After it leaves us, the Rusty Grackle con- 

 tinues its journey northward, reaching 

 northern Maine about the middle of May. 

 Here some of them remain to breed, while 

 others pass northward to Labrador and to 

 the fur countries, extending their migra- 

 tions as far north as timber grows. Rich- 

 ardson gives its summer range as extending 

 as far north as the 68th parallel of latitude, 

 and no doubt it breeds almost everywhere 

 throughout the Dominion of Canada east 

 of the Great Plains, where its place is taken 

 by a nearly allied species, the blue-headed 

 Grackle. Audubon tells us that this bird 

 begins to lay about the first of June in Maine 

 and fully a fortnight later in Labrador. 

 The nest is a rough affair on the outside, 

 formed of small weed stems and coarse 



grasses, but is neatly lined with finer grass, 

 or, in Labrador, with moss. It is usually 

 placed in a low bush or sometimes on the 

 lower branch of a tree, and contains four or 

 five eggs, greenish in color, mottled and 

 clouded with brownish markings. 



The Rusty Grackle does not hop when 

 on the ground like the robin and its near 

 allies, the finches, but walks after the man- 

 ner of most of our blackbirds and the crows 

 and ravens. 



Audubon gives us an interesting account 

 of one of these birds in captivity. He says, 

 "An acquaintance of mine, residing in New 

 Orleans, found one of these birds, a beau- 

 tiful male in full plumage, not far from that 

 city, while on one of his accustomed walks. 

 It had been shot, but was only slightly in- 

 jured on one of its wings, and as it was full 

 of vivacity and had a clear brilliant eye, in- 

 dicating that its health had not suffered, he 

 took it home and put it in a cage with sev- 

 eral painted buntings. They soon became 

 accustomed to each other, the Grackle 

 evincing no desire to molest its smaller com- 

 panions. I saw it when it had already been 

 caged upward of four months, and had the 

 satisfaction to hear it sing repeatedly. It 

 frequently uttered its traveling chuck-note. 

 It was fed entirely on rice. This was the 

 only specimen 1 ever saw in captivity, and 

 it proved a very amiable companion." Wil- 

 son also speaks of these birds in captivity, 

 and says that they are readily tamed. 



The plate of the Rusty Grackle, which 

 accompanies this account of the bird, is a 

 reproduction of Audubon's illustration of 

 the species. 



The Rusty Grackle is 9^ inches in length 

 and is 14 inches in alar extent. The full 

 plumaged male is everywhere deep glossy 

 black, with some greenish and bluish re- 

 flections. The female is brownish black; 

 the sides of the head above and below the 

 eyes are light yellowish brown, and all the 

 feathers are edged with brownish. The eye 

 is pale yellow, bill and feet black. 



