THE BRONZED GRACKLE. 



First come the Blackbirds clatt'rin in tall trees, 

 And settlin' things in windy congresses, 

 Queer politicians though, for I'll be skinned 

 If all on 'em don't head against the wind. 



— Lowell. 



Y the more familiar name 

 of Crow Blackbird this 

 fine but unpopular bird is 

 known, unpopular among 

 the farmers for his depre- 

 dations in their cornfields, though the 

 good he does in ridding the soil, even 

 at the harvest season, of noxious 

 insects and grubs .should be set down 

 to his credit. 



The Bronzed Grackle or Western 

 Crow Blackbird, is a common species 

 everywhere in its range, from the 

 Alleghanies and New England north 

 to Hudson Bay, and west to the Rocky 

 Mountains, It begins nesting in fav- 

 orable seasons as early as the middle 

 of March, and by the latter part of 

 April many of the nests are finished. 

 It nests anywhere in trees or bushes 

 or boughs, or in hollow limbs or 

 stumps at any height A clump of 

 evergreen trees in a lonely spot is a 

 favorite site, in sycamore groves along 

 streams, and in oak woodlands. It is 

 by no means unusual to see in the 

 same tree several nests, some saddled 

 on horizontal branches, others built in 

 large forks, and others again in holes, 

 either natural or those made by the 

 Flicker. A long list of nesting sites 

 might be given, including Martin- 

 houses, the sides of Fish Hawk's nests, 

 and in church spires, where the Black- 

 birds' " clatterin' '' is drowned by the 

 tolling bell. 



The nest is a coarse, bulky affair, 

 composed of grasses, knotty roots 

 mixed with mud, and lined with fine 

 dry grass, horse hair, or sheep's wool. 

 The eggs are light greenish or smoky 

 blue, with irregular lines, dots and 

 blotches distributed over the surface. 

 The eggs average four to si.x, though 

 nests have been found containino- seven. 



The Bronze Grackle is a bird of 

 many accomplishments. He does not 

 hop like the ordinary bird, but 

 imitates the Crow in his stately walk, 

 says one who has watched him with 

 interest. He can pick beech nuts, 

 catch Cray fish without getting nipped, 

 and fish for minnows alongside of any 

 ten -year- old. While he is flying 

 straight ahead you do not notice any- 

 thing unusual, but as soon as he turns 

 or wants to alight you see his tail 

 change from the horizontal to the 

 vertical — into a rudder. ' Hence he is 

 called keel-tailed. 



The Grackle is as omnivorous as the 

 Crow or Blue Jay, without their sense 

 of humor, and whenever opportunity 

 offers will attack and eat smaller birds, 

 especially the defenseless young. His 

 own meet with the like fate, a fo.x 

 squirrel having been seen to emerge 

 from a hole in a large dead tree with 

 a young Blackbird in its mouth. The 

 Squirrel was attacked by a number 

 of Blackbirds, who were greatly 

 excited, but it paid no attention to 

 their demonstrations and scampered 

 off into the wood with his prey. Of 

 their quarrels with Robins and other 

 birds much might be written. Those 

 who wish to investigate their remark- 

 able habits will do well to read the acute 

 and elaborate observations of Mr. 

 Lyndes Jones, in a recent Bulletin of 

 Oberlin College. He has studied for 

 several seasons the remarkable Bronze 

 Grackle roost on the college campus 

 at that place, where thousands of these 

 birds congregate from year to year, 

 •and, though more or less offensive to 

 some of the inhabitants, add consid- 

 erably to the attractiveness of the 

 university town. 



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