Blackbirds and Orioles. 



Order Passeres. 

 Family, Icteridae. 



Family Characteristics: Black or black in combination with white, 

 yellow or red. They generally live in colonies. The blackbirds and 

 grackles have rather harsh voices but the bobolink, the meadow lark 

 and the orioles are among our finest singers. They live on insects, 

 worms and seeds and the small amount of grain they eat is nothing 

 compared with the good that they do. 



498. RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. Agelaius phoeniceus. Length 

 nine inches. Male entirely black except a patch of scarlet on his 

 wings. The scarlet seems tipped with yellow. Female without red on 

 wings and mottled black and dull drab. Common about swamps and 

 marshes. 



509. RUSTY BLACKBIRD. Scolecophagus CaroUnus. About 

 nine inches long. Rusty black with bluish reflections on neck. No 

 special color markings as with most blackbirds. Light yellow eyes. 



495. COWBIRD. Molothrus ater. Seven and one half-inches long. 

 Black all over. Copper-colored reflections on neck of male bird. Fe- 

 male brownish-black. Eats eggs of other birds. 



510. BREWER BLACKBIRD. Scolecophagus cyanocephalus. 

 About nine inches long. Entirely black with strong purple reflections. 

 Yellow eyes are a noticeable characteristic. Apparently a small-sized 

 grackle. Common in the Black Hills. 



497. YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. Xanthocephalus Xan- 

 thocephalus. Somewhat larger than the more common red-winged 

 blackbird and usually found in company with them. Entire head bright 

 yellow. Wings with white patches. Hoarse voice when it tries to sing. 

 Nests are fastened to rushes like the red-wing's. Very common. 



511b. BRONZED GRACKLE. Quiscnlus guiscula aeneus. Twelve 

 and one-half inches long. Entirely black except for a purple and bronze 

 luster, strongest on body. Yellow eyes. Called "crow blackbird". 

 Nests in colonies. Has a harsh voice. Bulky nests of mud and dry 

 grass. They walk much of the time and steer themselves In flight by 

 their tails. Their voices are bad but their services give them a credit 

 balance. 



