V60 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED .STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Many pairs were seen May ]6 and June 2 and 16, 1877, though no nests 

 were found.-;-(jE'. cormita^ Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 486. — E. alpestris chry- 

 sola'ma, Sennett, B. Kio Grande, 9.) 



84. Molothrus ater, (Bodd.) 



Very common during winter, arriving early in September and leaving 

 in April. The males frequent the stables and picket-lines in large flocks, 

 with throe or four other S])ecies of Blackbirds: the females are much 

 lei^s common. — {M. pecoris, Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 492.) 



85. * Molothrus ater var. obscurus, (Gniel.) 



Common during summer, replacing v'm\ pecoris when it leaves. I have 

 found the eggs or young in nests of Pyrocepkalus var. mexicanus, Vireo 

 noveboracensiSy Icteria virens, Amphispiza bilineata, Embernagra rujivir- 

 gata, Icterus cncullatus, I. var. affinis, and Agelwus phceniceus.* I^itteen 

 eggs now before me average .78 by .61, which is considerably larger thaa 

 the measurements given by Dr. Brewer.t — {31. ater obscurus, Sennett. 

 B. Kio Grande, 22.) 



86. * Molothrus aeneus, (Wagl.) — The Red-eyed Cowbird. 



Psarocolius aiiieus, Wagl., Isis, 1829,758. — Boxap., Consp. I, 1850, 426. 



Molothrus ceneus, Caban., Mus. Hein. I, 1851, 192.— SCL., P. Z. S. 1856, 300; 

 1859,365 (Jalapa), 381 (Oasaca); Catal. 1861, 135, No. 819 (Jalapaj.— 

 ScL. & Salv., Ibis, 1860, 34; Nom. Neotr. 1»73, 37.— Owkn, Ibis, 1861, 

 61 (Guatemala; descr. eggs).— Cass., Pr. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phil. 1H66, 18 

 (Mazatlau, Manzanillo, and Jalapa, Mexico; Yucatan; Nicaragua; 

 Costa Rica ; Panama).— Sumichr., Mem. Bost. Soc. I, 1869, 5.'i2 (Vera 

 Cruz; hot and temperate regioi s. Vulg. : ^^ Tovgonito" ; "Enmante- 

 cado"). — Salvin, P. Z. S. 1870, 191 (Cbitra and Calobre, Veragua). — 

 Lawr., Ann. Lye. N. Y. IX, lf<68, 104 (Costa Rica); Mem. Bost. Soc. 

 II, 1874, 281 (Mazatlan, Manzanillo Bay, and Mts. of Colima, W. 

 Mexico. Habits) ; Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 4, 1^76, 24 (Tapana, Isth. 

 Tehuantepec; April. — "Iris red"). — Merrill, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, 

 I, Nov. 1876, 88 (Ft. Brown, Texas; very abundant); ib. II, Oct. 1877, 

 85 (habits; deter, of eggs and young. — "Iris bloow-red" in adult; 

 brown in young). — Coues & Sennett, Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

 Surv. Terr. Feb. 1878, 23 (Fort Brown, Tex.— Syn.diag., remarks). 



Molothrus robustus, Caban., Mus. Hein. I, 1851, 193; J. f. O. 1861, 81. 



fS. armenli. 



Molothrus armenli, Caban., Mus. Hein. I, 1851, 192; J. f. O. 1861, 82.— Cass., 

 P. A. N. S. March, 1866, 18 (D^marara ; Savanilla, New Granada). 



*On June 13, 1877, I found an egg of this variety in a n-et of Amphispiza bdineafa 

 that contained three young and two addled eggs. The Cowbird's egg was cracked 

 almost entirely across the middle, and in it was one of the addled Sparrow's eggs. This 

 must have been done by some idle Mexican. 



,t Buird, Brewer, and Ridgway, North American Birds, ii, 157. 



