THE PERCHING Brrps. 129 
Bonaparte states,— 
“The Yellow-headed Troopials assemble in dense flocks, which, 
in all their varied movements and evolutions, present appearances 
similar to those of the Red-winged, which have been so well de- 
scribed by Wilson. They are much on the ground like the Cow 
Troopial (Cow-bunting of Wilson); on dissection, their stomachs 
have been found filled with fragments of small insects, which seem 
to constitute their chief food, though doubtless they also feed on 
vegetable substances. Their notes resemble those of the Red-winged 
Troopial, but are more musical. The range of the Yellow-headed 
Troopial is very extensive, as it is found from Cayenne to the river 
Missouri; although it passes far north in the western region, yet it 
does not visit the settled parts of the United States.” 
The Red-winged Blackbird is almost as well known 
as the crow. Whether in early spring it is the pair 
that have their nest in the wet meadow and the male 
singing con-que-ree from dawn till dark, or it is some 
huge flock in autumn that literally, for an instant, 
blots out the sun, it is the same familiar blackbird 
that fills a place in every country landscape. Like 
the crow, it would be sadly missed if exterminated, 
not only for the pleasure-it affords, but because of the 
great good it accomplishes. I am speaking now of 
the Middle States. It is a veritable pest in the South 
when in “clouds” it settles upon the rice-fields, in 
this respect equalling the destructiveness of the reed- 
birds ; but here in the Delaware Valley the conditions 
are all different. The red-wings are seen even in win- 
ter in scattered flocks of a few individuals. In March 
these flocks grow larger and there are many more of 
them. Then the day of breaking flock and mating 
comes, and with it comes the scattering of sweet song 
all over the country. Certainly there is music in the 
blackbird at this time. 
z 
