«THE # OOLOGIST.* 



TOL. VII. 



ALBION N. Y , DEC, 1890. 



No. 12 



The Rusty Blackbird. 

 ( Scolccopkagu.i carolinus.) 



Silent and im-uotieetl, clacl in sombre 

 <lres.s, tiie Rusty Blacki)irds pass us 

 twice a year; once, nortlnvard-bound, 

 early in the train of numbprless winged 

 travellers which yearly wing their way 

 to northward breeding grounds, — these, 

 before the cold l^lasts of March are 

 hardly done, and still straggling by 

 through the days of April; and again, 

 southward-bound, 'raid falling leaves 

 and hoar-frosts, tinttjd forests and crisp 

 ■October mornings. 



I said silent and un-noticed, — un- 

 noticed because silent and unobtrusive, 

 it quietly j^asses by, creating no distur- 

 bance to attract our attention, nor 

 emitting any notes to drav/ our ear in 

 its direction; but, unostentatiously, in 

 large flocks, small flocks, and singly, 

 they move by us unawares, stopping 

 only in low and swampy places, and 

 even when they are noticed, are seldom 

 hailed as anything more than merely a 

 "flock of blackbii'ds." 



But what about these blackbirds? 

 What if some blackbirds did fly north 

 or fly south once? Or what if they did 

 it twice a year? What of it? Nothing, 

 only I thought that these un-noticed 

 birds so seldom see their "name in 

 print," that out of justice to them, I 

 would be their advertising agent for 

 once. 



Well, as I have said, the Rusty Black- 

 birds are wdth us twice a year as mi- 

 gi'ants. It is in the autumn that the 

 rust-color markings, from which 

 this species takes its name, are most 

 conspicuous, and it is then that it pre- 

 sents the appearance, most nearly, of a 

 rusty blackbird. At this time, all the 

 feathex's of its glossy-black plumage are 

 edged with this ferruginous setting, mak- 

 ing the bird at once conspieiioas and 



easily identifiable when at not too great 

 a distance. 



As to size, the Rusty Blackliird is just 

 aljout equal to the Red-wing, — or just a 

 little larger, being al^out 'J^ inches in 

 length and a)>out \i\ inches in extent. 



A conspicuous mark of this species, 

 aside from the markings of the plum- 

 age, is the milk-white iris. 



The female has a jiale stripe aljove 

 the eye. She is slaty-brown above, and 

 rusty and grayish mixed below. In the 

 sr-ring, the male has some of the 

 fiathers edged with rusty-brow^n, but 

 the predominating fglossy-back of the 

 plumage out-does it, and renders it in- 

 conspicuous. 



For some reason, I do not notice 

 these birds very often in the spring, but 

 it is during the chilling days of October, 

 when chestnut-burrs have just dropped 

 their tempting morsels, and robins are 

 dividing themselves into squadrons and 

 battallions for their forced mai'ch 

 southward, that the Rusty Blackbii'ds 

 force themselves upon my notice. 



Some way, Rilways associate Rusty 

 Blackbirds with frosty autumn morn- 

 ings, falling leaves and hazy skies; and, 

 likewise, hazy skies," falling leaves, and 

 frosty mornings with Rusty Blackbirds. 



I know not why these are always 

 associated in my mind together, unless, 

 may be, it is because my first acquaint- 

 ance with *th8 Rusty Blackbird was 

 made on just such a frosty moi'ning, 

 'mid falliiig leaves and 'neath a hazy, 

 October sky. 



That morning I shall not soon forget. 

 It was October 21st, — yes, I know it 

 was October 21st (would that I could 

 remember historical dates and those of 

 business transactions as well as those of 

 my ornithological achievements.) 



Langille most truly expressed my 

 sentiments when he said, concerning 

 himself, in "Our Birds in their Haunts''' 



