270 BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 



impatiently awaiting the order to advance. In close rank they come, 

 phalanx after phalanx, to retake the land which winter — once conquer- 

 ing, now defeated — yields to them. The air resounds to marshal music ; 

 their harsh voices, united, rise in an inspiring chorus. 



The campaign over, they settle in colonies on their recently acquired 

 possessions, and these careless rovers become so attached to their homes 

 and families that they are rarely seen far from their vicinity. Some- 

 times we may see them walking sedately over the lawns near their 

 home, their glossy plumage gleaming in the light, and their yellow 

 eyes giving them a peculiar, unbirdlike expression. But when their 

 young are old enough to care for themselves the old habits return, 

 and, leading their offspring into the woi-ld, they teach them the ways 

 of wanderers. Meeting others of their kind, they join forces, and in 

 the fall we find them in hordes ravaging the country. 



The Grackle's disposition is as gloomy as his plumage is dark. 

 Life with him is a serious affair. He seems to utterly lack the Blue 

 Jay's sense of humor. As a parent he is beyond reproach, and every 

 moment is devoted to the care of his young, but it is all done in a joy- 

 less way. Eggs and nestlings form part of his fare, and I can imagine 

 bird-mothers frightening their young into obedience by theatened visits 

 from that ogre, the Grackle. 



511a* Q. q. aglSBUS {BalrJ). Florida Grackle. Ad. 3. — Head, 

 neck, throat and upper breast all around metallic violet-purple ; back and 

 rump rich bottle green, the feathers with more or less concealed iridescent 

 bars ; wings and tail externally metallic purple or bluish black ; the wing- 

 coverts generally with iridescent tips ; lower breast and belly similar to the 

 back but duller. Ad. 9 . — Not distinguishable in color from the 9 of Q. quis- 

 cula^ but differing in size. W., 5-38 ; T., 4-90 ; B., 1'25. 



Mange. — Coast of South Carolina westward through central Georgia to 

 the Mississippi; south through Florida to Key West. 



This is a locally abundant bird, and is found in flocks throughout 

 the year. In Florida it sometimes lives in the towns in which live- 

 oaks grow, and it also makes its headquarters in cypress "bays," but 

 its favorite resort is among the cabbage palmettos, upon the berries 

 of which it feeds. 



511b* Q. q* SBneus (Bidgw.). Bronzed Grackle; Crow Black- 

 bird. Ad. 6 . — Head, neck, throat, and upper breast all around varying from 

 brilliant metallic purple to bluish green or steel-blue ; back metallic seal- 

 bronze, the feathers without iridescent bars ; wings and tail metallic pur- 

 plish or bluish black ; lower breast and belly similar to the back but duller. 

 Ad. ? . — Much duller, the back and belly brownish, sometimes without me- 

 tallic reflections and never with iridescent bars. W., 5*62; T., 5-04; B., 1*21. 



Range. — Breeds from Texas to Great Slave Lake, east to the Alleghanies 



