210 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



the Cowbird and Purple Grakle in the East. Like others of their tribe they 

 are very abundant wliere found at all, and eminently gregarious, except 

 whilst breeding. Yet I never saw such innumerable multitudes together as 

 the Eed winged Blackbird, or even its Californian congener, A. tricolor, shows 

 in the fall, flocks of fifty or a hundred being oftenest seen. Unlike the 

 Agelcci, they show no partiality for swampy places, being lovers of the woods 

 and fields, and appearing perfectly at home in the clearings about man's 

 abode, where their sources of supply are made sure through his bounty or 

 wastefulness. They are well adapted for terrestrial life by the size and 

 strength of their feet, and spend much of their time on the ground, betaking 

 themselves to the trees on alarm. On tlie ground they habitually run witli 

 nimble steps, when seeking food, only occasionally hopping leisurely, like a 

 Sparrow, upon both feet at once. Their movements are generally quick, 

 and their attitudes varied. They run with the head lowered and tail some- 

 what elevated and partly spread for a balance, but in walking slowly the 

 head is held high, and oscillates with every step. The customary attitude 

 when perching is with the body nearly erect, the tail hanging loosely down, 

 and the bill pointing upward ; but should their attention be attracted, this 

 negligent posture is changed, the birds sit low and firmly, with elevated and 

 wide-spread tail rapidly flirted, whilst the bright eye peers down through 

 the foliage. When a flock comes down to the ground to search for food, 

 they generally huddle closely together and pass pretty quickly along, each 

 one striving to be first, and in their eagerness they continually fly up and 

 re-alight a few paces ahead, so that the flock seems, as it were, to be rolling 

 over and over. When disturbed at such times, they fly in a dense body to 

 a neighboring tree, but then almost invariably scatter as they settle among 

 the boughs. The alarm over, one, more adventurous, flies down again, two 

 or three follow in his wake, and the rest come trooping after. In their be- 

 havior towards man, they exhibited a curious mixture of heedlessness and 

 timidity ; they would ramble about almost at our feet sometimes, yet the 

 least unvisual sound or movement sent them scurrying into the trees. They 

 became tamest about the stables, where they would walk almost under the 

 horses' feet, like Cowbirds in a farm-yard. 



" Their hunger satisfied, the Blackbirds would fly into the pine-trees and 

 remain a long time motionless, though not at all quiet. They were ' at sing- 

 ing-school,' we used to say, and certainly there was room for improvement 

 in their chorus ; but if their notes were not particularly harmonious, they 

 were sprightly, varied, and on the whole rather agreeable, suggesting the 

 joviality that Blackbirds always show when their stomachs are full, and the 

 prospect of further supply is good. Their notes are rapid and emphatic, and, 

 like the barking of coyotes, give an impression of many more performers 

 than are really engaged. They have a smart chirp, like the clashing of peb- 

 bles, frequently repeated at intervals, varied with a long-drawn mellow 

 whistle. Their ordinary note, continually uttered when they are searching 



