^°im"] PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 573 



Terns and various kinds of blackbirds. I was unable, from the depth 

 of the water, to reach the place where the terus seemed to be nesting, 

 but found the nest of tlie Ked-wiuged Blackbird in a few twigs that 

 projected about a foot above the water, here 3 feet deej), and some 10 

 feet from the shore. I saw the female leave the nest, so that the iden- 

 tification is good. The male did not put in an appearance at all. The 

 nest is very deep, neat, and strong ; it is suspended from about a dozen 

 upright twigs and is built much like that of a Baltimore Oriole, but 

 entirely of grass. The eggs, four in number, were all fresh ; one was 

 1 by li, pale blue, and scrawled over with most curious hieroglyphs in 

 brown black ink; the others were similar. 



On August 9, 1884, while at Humphrey's Lake, I noticed that in the 

 redwing colony there, although females and young birds were very nu- 

 merous, only one male was to be seen. It would seem that the males 

 leave the scattered breeding places and repair to the great marshes at 

 this season and later on the females follow with the young. 



This curious habit is said to belong also to the Boat-tailed Grackle 

 {Quiscalus major), while the late summer disai)pearance of the cowbirds 

 may be a propensity somewhat similar in its nature. 



During the courting season the male Redwing may be seen approach- 

 ing the female in most beseeching attitudes and giving vocal expression 

 to his feelings from time to time, while his wings are slightly raised and 

 the gorgeous patch of scarlet feathers on the shoulder expanded so as 

 to appear thrice as large as under ordinary circumstances. Doubtless 

 he is as much indebted to the latter as to his vocal appeal for the ulti- 

 mate success of his suit. 



The usual note of the species is a short, harsh " c/ticfc," but it is often 

 heard to utter a shrill whistle, during which I have seen the bird dash- 

 ing straight across the field or marsh with a flight so steady and swift 

 that I have sometimes wondered for a minute what bird it was. 



The " song" of the Redwing is a sort of guttural squeal ; it has been 

 happily syllabilized as '■^ conk-que-reeP The effect of this, when uttered 

 by what seemed to be a million voices, as I heard it among the reed-beds 

 of Portage la Prairie slough, is not unmusical, and to the naturalist is 

 pleasing in its significance of the multitudinous life about him, though 

 it must be confessed that the granivorous propensities of this and all 

 other blackbirds leave little chance of the farmers finding a similar en- 

 joyment in the pleasant aggregation of unpleasant individual notes. 



Shortly after the end of August all the species disappeared from here, 

 but in such large reed-beds as that mentioned above they gather in thou- 

 sands and linger until the frost drives them south, about the middle of 

 October. 



167. Sturnella magna neglecta. Western Meadow Lark. Prairie Lark. 



Abundant summer resident of the prairies. East to Pembina (Ridg- 

 way). Pembina, and westward along the boundary to the Rockies; com- 



