26 FIELD. KEY TO THE LAND BIRDS. 
BLACKBIRDS, STARLINGS. — Icteridae. 
~~. Buu. — Triangular, straight, sharp- 
a) pointed. 
Foop. — Seeds, fruit, insects. 
Mostly walking birds, at home both on trees and on 
the ground. Summer birds, wintering southward. 
53. BOBOLINK, REED-BIRD, OR RICE- 
BIRD. Dolichonyx oryzivorus. — Length, T4 inches. 
Back of neck yellowish; shoulder and tail coverts 
white; elsewhere black. Female and young differ 
greatly from the male, being yellowish brown, streaked 
and marked with black above. They resemble large 
sparrows, but walk instead’ of hopping. The bobo- 
link lives in meadows and marshes, perching fre- 
quently on bushes, rarely on trees. It is never found 
on high land or in the woods. With us these birds 
live in pairs, but in the South in winter they collect 
in the wild-rice fields in immense flocks. 
54. COWBIRD. WMMolothrus ater. — Length, 8 
inches. Head and neck dark brown, the rest black. 
Female and young gray-brown, lighter below. Found 
mostly in pastures in company with cattle, perching 
upon their backs, and feeding under their feet, appar- 
ently in a very friendly manner. It is suspected, 
however, that this bird utilizes his big friends only to 
attract the insects that he eats. The Cowbird is 
remarkable for not building a nest of its own. The 
female lays her eggs in the nests of other birds, and 
leaves to them the hatching and rearing of her 
young. 
55. RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. Agelaius 
phoeniceus. — Length, 9$ inches. Black ; the shoulder 
bright scarlet edg ed-with buff. Female blackish above 
with buff streaks ; white below, with black streaks. 
This bird frequents marshes and swampy meadows, 
perching on bushes, seldom on trees except in the 
