46 THE BREWER BLACKBIRD. 
Range in Washington.—Of general distribution thruout the State but found 
chiefly in more open situations in vicinity of streams and ponds and in cultivated 
sections. Normally migratory but increasingly resident especially on West-side. 
Authorities.—[Lewis and Clark, Hist. Ex. (1814) Ed. Biddle: Coues, Vol. 
Il. p. 185.] Scolecophagus mexicanus, Newberry, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. VI. 
pi. LV. 1857, p. co, (LP) C&S.) Rin Ds Reese" osc lem erie 
Speicmens.—U. of W. Prov. B. E. P. 
“BLACKBIRDS” are not usually highly esteemed in the East, where 
the memory of devastated cornfields keeps the wrath of the farmer warm; 
but if all species were as inoffensive as this confhding pensioner of the 
West, prejudice would soon vanish. He is a handsome fellow, our Wash- 
ington grackle, sleek, vivacious, inter- 
esting, and serviceable withal. We 
know him) best, perhaps, as an indus- 
trious gleaner of pastures, corrals, 
streets, and ‘‘made” lands. He is not 
only the farmer’s “hired man,” waging 
increasing warfare against insect life, 
especially in its noxious larval forms, 
but he has an accepted place in the 
economy of city and village as well. 
As one approaches a feeding flock, 
he notes the eagerness with which the 
birds run forward, or rise and flit past 
their fellows, now diving at a nimble 
weevil, now leaping to catch a passing 
bug, but always pushing on until one 
perceives a curious rolling effect in the a 
total movement. a, 
As we draw near, some timid in- 
dividual takes alarm, and instantly all 
are up, to alight again upon the fence = 
or shrubbery where they clack and 
whistle. not so much by way of appre- 
hension as thru sheer exuberance of 
nervous force. As we pass (we must not stop short, for they resent express 
attention) we note the droll white eyes of the males, as they twist and perk 
and chirp in friendly impudence; and the snuffy brown heads of the females 
with their soft hazel irides, as they give a motherly fluff of the feathers, 
or yawn with impatience over the interrupted meal. When we are fairly 
by, the most venturesome dives from his perch, and the rest follow by 
twos and tens, till the ground is again covered by a shifting, chattering band. 
Taken in Douglas County. Photo by the Author. 
BREWER’S BLACKBIRDS, 
