ICTEEID^. — XXXIV. 91 



f Bill horn-blue, very acute ; black or olivaceous, with orange 

 or yellow. . . . . . . Icterus, 6. 



ff Bill blackish; plumage every where streaked} usually a 

 rusty tinge on throat and bend of wing. 



2 of AOEL/EUS, 3. 



fff Bill jet black; plumage in s black, in $ duller, streaky, or 

 plain brown. 

 :}: Glossy black; bend of wing red, bordered by bufly and 



whitish ^ of Agel^us, 3. 



■\X Black ; head and neck rich lustrous brown. 



$ of MOLOTHRUS, 2. 



XXX Iridescent black throughout ; wings scarcely longer 

 than tail ; length more than 10. . Quiscalus, 8. 



XXXX Black, often obscured by brownish or rusty; no red or 

 yellow; wings longer than tail; length 9 to 10. 



SCOLECOPHAGUS, 7. 



** Length less than 7. 

 a. Dusky gray brown; bill blackish, shortened, finch-like. 



$ of MOI.OTIIRUS, 3. 



aa. Black with chestnut or orange (5), or else olive and yellow- 

 ish (?) ; bill acute, bluish or brown. . . Icterus, 6. 



/. DOLICHONYX, Swainson. Bobolinks. 



1. D. oryzivorus, (L.) Sw. Bobolink. Reed Bird. 

 Rice Bird. 6 in Spring black, neck biiflPy, shoulders and 

 rump ashy white, back streaky; ? and fall ^ yellowish 

 brown-, streaked above, — dull yellow ])irds, resembling 

 sparrows but known by the acute tail feathers; L. 7^; 

 W. 4; T. 3. E. U. S., abundant in meadows northward, 

 where, in the breeding- season, it is our merriest and most 

 delightful songster. Retiring southward in the fall, it 

 fattens in the rice swamps and becomes a "game bird." 



2. MOLOTHRUS, Swainson. Cow Birds. 



1. M. aier, (Bodd.) Gray. Cow Bird. 6 iridescent 

 black, head and neck glossy brown: 2 much smaller, 



