106 BIRDS OF SOUTH DAKOTA 
494. BoxBoLiInK (Dolichonyx oryzivorus.) 
Found locally over the State as a summer resident. 
The male is black with a buffy patch on nape (hind neck), 
and a broad white streak on lower back which divides on the 
upper back and reaches to the shoulders. The female above, 
is buff streaked with black; below, whitish. 
A bird of the low prairie which utters its ecstatic, bubbling 
song on the wing, and in a straight-away flight. 
495. Cowsirpd (Molothrus ater ater.) 
Abundant over the State as a summer resident. Nearly 
eight inches in length. The male is black with head and neck - 
light brown. Female brownish gray. 
To some people a Blackbird is simply a Blackbird, but 
there are many kinds of Blackbirds, and the Cowbird is the 
worst. It builds no nest of its own, but lays its speckled egg 
in the nests of other birds—Redwings, Warblers, Vireos, Tow- 
hees, etc. Its egg hatches more quickly than other birds’ eggs, 
and the young grow very rapidly, crowding their nestmates un- 
duly and taking most of the food: this frequently results in the 
death of the rightful young. Except when watching for oppor- 
tunity to lay their eggs in other birds’ nests they are usually 
seen in pastures near cattle and horses. They feed on the ground 
insects disturbed by the stock and not on flies that harass the 
cows and horses. 
497. YELLOW-HEADED BLacKBirD (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus.) 
The gleaming yellow head and throat of the male makes a 
marked object in field or marsh. The nesting habits are the 
same as Redwing’s. The females of Yellowhead and Redwing 
are not readily distinguished by the unpracticed observer. A 
summer resident. 
This Blackbird is not so abundant in South Dakota as 
formerly. Are they decreasing in numbers or have they changed 
their nesting grounds? 
498. RED-wWINGED BLAcKBIRD (Agelaius phoeniceus phoeniceus.) 
The “Redwing” is familiar to every boy, at least in South 
Dakota. It is a bird of the marsh, of the reed-encircled slough, 
