Natural Histo7'y of QuiscBi\\Jis major. 377 



the seeds of these plants, it descends to the sand-bars and mud- 

 flats that the tide lays bare, and seeks, in the guise of a gralla- 

 torial bird, in company with Tattlers and Sandpipers, food to 

 which most Blackbirds are strangers. As a rule, Icterida are 

 tenacious of insessorial traits ; one of which is to hop when on 

 the ground, instead of bringing forwards each leg alternately ; 

 but the Boat-tail almost always walks. It would hop at a dis- 

 advantage in the softy oozy mud where most of its time, when 

 it is not on wing, is spent — at a still greater in the shallow 

 water, where it often wades. Its long strong legs are as well 

 fitted for progression under these circumstances as its broad fan- 

 shaped tail is for a balance when on bending rushes. However 

 much grain it may gather from the bursting glumes of the reeds 

 or glean from the ground below, however many soft corms of 

 bulbiferous plants it may wrench up with its strong bill, the 

 greater part of its food is of an animal nature. It feeds indis- 

 criminately upon worms and little aquatic creatures of all sorts, 

 particularly small mollusks and articulates*. A flock descends 

 with raucous cries to a mud-flat where a region of those singu- 

 larly unsymmetricai little crabs called " fiddlers'' [Gelasimus pu- 

 gilator) are hurrying to Snd fro in eager quest of food. Each 

 bird marks its prey, breaks in a carapace at a blow, picks ofi" the 

 one great claw, too large for its throat, and swallows the body 

 with the lesser legs still wriggling. They skurry to a bank of 

 raccoon-oysters that just breaks the surface of the water, and 

 feed eagerly upon the youngest ones, whose shells are still frail 

 and delicate, as well as upon young mussels [Modiola plicatula), 

 that lie anchored by the byssus to the rougher bivalves. They 

 swoop down to a pool left by the retiring tide, where innume- 

 rable shrimps are disporting : these meet with like fate ; for the 

 birds wade boldly into the water, run nimbly about, up to their 

 bellies, striking here and there, and at each blow transfixing an 

 unlucky invertebrate. That tliey catch fish I cannot affirm, 

 though I should not be surprised to learn that they did so. If 



* Compared with other Blackbirds, the difference in diet is like that of 

 Corvus ossifragus as distinguished from C. americanus, of Procyon can- 

 crivorus as from P. lotor, and so forth. The specially littoral representa- 

 tives of most inland genera furnish many such instances. 



