12 BoWDiSH, Birds of Porto Rico. \^^^ 



58. Agelaius chrysopterus. Yellow-shouldered Blackbird. — In 

 general habits and notes this species is almost the counterpart of our 

 Red-wing. Common in the vicinity of marshy ground wherever I went. 

 I have never found their nests, but I presume that in the marshes, among 

 the cat-tails, flags, bulrushes and other dense growth, almost impenetra- 

 ble to man, they find a safe retreat, and doubtless nest there in about the 

 same manner as the Red-wing, in the United States. On June 8, 1901, 

 I visited one of the large marshes in the vicinity of Mayaguez for the pur- 

 pose of investigating their breeding habits, but on observing many nearly 

 full-grown young on the wing and beginning to show the yellow shoul- 

 der patch, I did not prosecute the search further. In variety and quality 

 their notes seem almost identical with those of the Red-wing. They 

 sometimes enter the cornfields with the grackles, for the grain, and both 

 came to the post stables at Mayaguez to feed on the scattered oats, but 

 this bird apparently feeds mainly on insects in the vicinity of the marshes. 

 I also found them on Mona. The sexes are alike in color, and the young 

 quickly attain the shoulder patch. 



159. Icterus portoricensis. Porto Rico Oriole. — An abundant bird 

 throughout the island, and also found on Vieques. Its feeding habits, 

 and particularly its notes, suggest the blackbirds rather than the orioles. 

 Both fruit and insects enter into its bill of fare, but my examination of 

 the stomachs, of both adults and juveniles, indicated that insect food pre- 

 dominates. The alarm note is a blackbird-like chip, but I have never 

 heard a song. June 9, 1900, I observed a young one about half-grown, 

 which may furnish a clew to the date of breeding. They are said to nest 

 in the palms. Near Aguadilla, Sept. 23, 1901, I found a nest under one of 

 these trees, which had evidently been dislodged from the tree. It was 

 obviously of oriole architecture, and undoubtedly belonged to the present 

 species. It was well woven of fibrous strips from the foliage of the palm, 

 and quite resembled a nest of the Orchard Oriole. 



60. Icterus icterus. Troupial. — I often saw them in cages and was 

 told that they were not rare in certain localities, but I did not find them. 

 An introduced species. 



61. Quiscalus brachypterus. Short-winged Crackle. — Its general 

 habits and notes are like those of the Bronzed Grackle. They nest in 

 the higher cocoanut and royal palm trees, and sometimes several nests are 

 placed in one tree. They are usually nearly or quite invisible from the 

 ground. I have not seen the eggs but presume they resemble those of 

 other members of the genus. At Aguadilla on July 24, 1900, native boys 

 climbed a cocoanut tree and procured a nest with eggs. The eggs had 

 been destroyed before I heard about them. I obtained the nest and sent 

 it to the U. S. National Museum. .It was built of grasses and bits of wild 

 cotton (of which there was a quantity growing near), and lined with fine 

 roots and one feather. In the center there was almost no bottom, prob- 

 ably where it rested on a leaf-stem. No mud was used in its construction. 

 It measured 2.63 X 2.13 inches in depth, and 6.25 X 3.25 in diameter and 



