RUSTY BLACKBIRD. II9 



RUSTY BLACKBIRD. 



SCOLECOPHAGUS CAROLINUS. 



Char. Male in summer, glossy black, generally more or less feathers 

 edged with reddish brown. Male in winter: the brown more consjjic- 

 uous, the lower parts marked with buffy. Female and young : dull rusty 

 brown above, rusty and ashy beneath. Length 8j^ to 9^ inches. 



Nest. In a spruce-tree or alder ; a large but solid structure of twigs 

 and vines, sometimes cemented with mud, lined with grass and leaves. 



Ei^gs. 4-7 ; grayish green to pale green, thickly blotched with light and 

 dark brown and purple ; i.oo X 0.76. 



This species, less frequent than the preceding, is often 

 associated with it or with the Red-winged Troopial or the 

 Cowpen Bird ; and according to the season, they are found 

 throughout America, from Hudson's Bay to Florida, and west- 

 ward to the Pacific Ocean. Early in April, according to 

 Wilson, they pass hastily through Pennsylvania, on their 

 return to the North to breed. In the month of March he 

 observed them on the banks of the Ohio, near Kentucky River, 

 during a snow-storm. They arrive in the vicinity of Hudson's 

 Bay about the beginning of May, and feed much in the manner 

 of the common Crow Blackbird on insects which they find on 

 or near the ground. Dr. Richardson saw them in the winter 

 as far as the latitude of 53°, and in summer they range to the 

 68th parallel or to the extremity of the wooded region. They 

 sing in the pairing season, but become nearly silent while 

 rearing their young ; though when their brood release them 

 from care, they again resume their lay, and may occasionally be 

 heard until the approach of winter. Their song is quite as 

 agreeable and musical as that of the Starling, and greatly sur- 

 passes that of any of the other species. I have heard them 

 singing until the middle of October. 



They are said to build in trees and bushes at no great dis- 

 tance from the ground, making a nest similar to the other 

 species, and lay five eggs, of a pale blue spotted with black. 

 The young and old, now assembling in large troops, retire from 

 the northern regions in September. From the beginning of 



