BRONZED GRACKLE. 289 



Genus QUI8CALUS Vieillot. 



Subgenus QUISCALUS. 



QULSCALU8 QULSCULA ^NEU8 (Riofiw.). 



209. Bronzed Crackle. (olN>) 



j»letallic tints, rich, deep and unifoini ; liead and neck all ronnd, lich, silky 

 steel-blue, this strictly contined to these portions, and abruptly defined behind, 

 varying in shade from an intense Prussian blue to lirassy -greenish, the latter 

 tint always, when present, most appaient on the neck, the head always more 

 violaceous ; lores, velvety -black ; entire body, above and below, uniform 

 continuou.s metallic brassy -olive, varying to burnished golden olivaceous-bronze, 

 becoming gradually uniform metallic purplish or purplish-violet on wings and 

 tail, the last more purplish ; primaries, violet-black ; bill, tarsus and toes, 

 pure black ; iris, sulphur-yellow. Length, 12.o0 to 13.50; wing, 6.00; tail, 6.00; 

 culmen. 1.26; tarsus, 1.32; third and fourth quills, longest and equal; first, 

 shorter than fifth ; projection of primaries beyond secondaries, 1.28 ; graduation 

 of the tail, 1.48. {Rul(iiraij. ) 



H.\B. — From the Alleghanies an<l New England north and west to Hudson 

 Bay and the Rocky Mountains. 



Nest, coarse and bulky, com23osed of twigs and weeils, with a mixture 

 of mud, often placed in a spruce or hemlock tree, sometimes in a bush over- 

 hanging the water, and occasionally in a hollow stub oi- deserted woodpecker's 

 hole. 



Eggs, four to si.x, smoky-l)lue with irregulai' dark brown blotches, lines and 

 spots. 



The Bronzed Gruckle was christened b}' Mr. Ridgway at the Pro- 

 ceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, in June, 

 1869. Prior to that date. Dr. Baird had separated one as peculiai' 

 to Florida, but all the others were supposed to belong to the species 

 named by Linnar-us, Quiseahis quiscnla, or Purple Grackle. Mr. 

 Ridgway, on comparing a lar-ge number of specimens from different 

 points, found the group to contain two well-defined sub-sj^ecies, and 

 his decision has now been generally adopted. The original Purple 

 Grackle is the most .southern bird of the three, its habitat being given 

 as " Atlantic States from Florida to Long Island," w^iile our present 

 form is said to extend from the Alleghanies and New England, 

 north and west to Hudson Ba}" and the Rocky Mountaiirs. Since 

 giving my attention to this subject, I have made a point of examining 

 all available mounted Crow Blackbirds in barber shops, country 

 taverns, etc., and find that all belong to the Bronzed division. 



It is quite possible that a few of the others may 3'^et be found 

 along our southern border, Ijut unquestionably the Crow Blackbird 

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