ICTERID.E — THE ORIOLES. 203 



Synopsis of Species. 



S. ferrugineus. Bill slender ; height at base not .4 the total length. Color of male 

 black, with liiint purple reflection over whole body ; wings, tail, and abdomen glossed 

 slightly with green. Autumnal specimens with feathers broadly edged with castaneous 

 rusty. Female brownish dusky slate, without gloss ; no trace of light superciliary stripe. 



S. cyanocephalus. Bill stout; height at base nearly .5 the total length. Color black, 

 with green reflections over whole body. Head only glossed with purple. Autumnal 

 specimens, feathers edged very indistinctly with umber-brown. Female dusky-brown, 

 with a soft gloss ; a decided light superciliary stripe. 



Cuba possesses a species referred to this genus (>S'. atroviolaceus), thougli 

 it is not strictly congeneric with the two North American ones. It differs 

 in lacking any distinct membrane above the nostril, and in ha\dng the bill 

 not compressed laterally, as well as in being much stouter. The plumage 

 has a soft silky lustre ; the general color black, with rich purple or violet 

 lustre. The female similarly colored to the male. 



Scolecophagus ferrugineus, Swainson. 



RUSTY BLACKBIRD. 



Oriolus ferrugineus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 393, No. 43. — Lath. Lid. \, 1790, 176. 

 Gracula ferrufjinea, AVilson, Am. Orn. Ill, 1811, 41, pi. xxi, f. 3. Quiscalus ferru- 

 gineus, BoN. Obs. Wils. 1824, No. 46. — Nuttall, Man. \, 1832, 199. — Aud. Orn. 

 Biog. H, 1834, 315 ; V, 1839, 483, pi. cxlvii. — Ib. Synopsis, 1839, 146. — Ib. Birds 

 Am. IV, 1842, 65, pi. ccxxii. — Max. Caban. J. Y\, 1858, 204. Scolccophagivs ferru- 

 gineus, Swainson, F. Bor.-Am. H, 1831, 286. — Bon. List, 1838. — Baikd, Birds N. 

 Am. 1858, 551.— CouES, P. A. N. S. 1861, 225. — Cass. P. A. N. S. 1866, 412.— 

 Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. Ac. L 1869, 285 (Alaska). ? ? Oriolus niger, Gmelin, I, 

 1788, 393, Nos. 4, 5 (perhaps Quiscalus). — Samuels, 350. —Allen, B. E. Fla. 291. 

 Scolccopliagus niger, Bonap. Consp. 1850, 423. — Cabanis, Mus. Hein. 1851, 195. 

 ?? Oriolus fuscics, Gmelin, Syst. 1, 1788, 393, No. 44 (perhaps Molothrus). Ticrdus 

 hudsonius, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 818. — Lath. Lid. Turdus novcboraccnsis, 

 Gmelin, 1, 1788, 818. Turdus labradorius, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. L 1788, 832. — 

 Lath. Lid. \, 1790, 342 {labradorus). " Pendulinus atcr, Vieillot, Nouv. Diet." 

 Chalcophanes virescens, Wagler, Syst. Av. (Appendix, Oriolus 9). / Turdus No. 22 

 from Severn River, Forster, Phil. Trans. LXU, 1772, 400. 



Sp. Char. Bill .slender ; shorter than the head ; about equal to the hind toe ; its height 

 not quite two fifths the total length. Wing nearly an inch longer than the tail ; second 

 quill longest; first a little shorter than the fourth. Tail slightly graduated; the lateral 

 feathers about a quarter of an inch shortest. General color black, with purple reflec- 

 tions ; the wings, under tail-coverts, and hinder part of the belly, glossed with green. 

 Li autumn the feathers largely edged with ferruginous or brownish, so as to change the 

 appearance entirely. Spring female dull, opaque plumbeous or ashy-black ; the wings and 

 tail sometimes with a green lustre. Young like autumnal birds. Length of male, 9.50 ; 

 wing, 4.75 ; tail, 4.00. Female smaller. 



Hab. From Atlantic coast to the Missouri. North to Arctic regions. In Alaska on 

 the Yukon, at Fort Kenai, and Nulato. 



Habits. The Rusty Blackbird is an eastern species, found from the At- 



