THE PERCHING BIRDS. 129 



Bonaparte states, 



"The Yellow-headed Troopials assemble in dense flocks, which, 

 in all their varied movements and evolutions, present appearances 

 similar to those of the Red-winged, which have been so well de- 

 scribed by Wilson. They are much on the ground like the Cow 

 Troopial (Cow-bunting of Wilson) ; on dissection, their stomachs 

 have been found filled with fragments of small insects, which seem 

 to constitute their chief food, though doubtless they also feed on 

 vegetable substances. Their notes resemble those of the Red-winged 

 Troopial, but are more musical. The range of the Yellow-headed 

 Troopial is very extensive, as it is found from Cayenne to the river 

 Missouri ; although it passes far north in the western region, yet it 

 does not visit the settled parts of the United States." 



The Red-winged Blackbird is almost as well known 

 as the crow. Whether in early spring it is the pair 

 that have their nest in the wet meadow and the male 

 singing con-que-rTe from dawn till dark, or it is some 

 huge flock in autumn that literally, for an instant, 

 blots out the sun, it is the same familiar blackbird 

 that fills a place in every country landscape. Like 

 the crow, it would be sadly missed if exterminated, 

 not only for the pleasure it affords, but because of the 

 great good it accomplishes. I am speaking now of 

 the Middle States. It is a veritable pest in the South 

 when in " clouds" it settles upon the rice-fields, in 

 this respect equalling the destructiveness of the reed- 

 birds ; but here in the Delaware Valley the conditions 

 are all different. The red-wings are seen even in win- 

 ter in scattered flocks of a few individuals. In March 

 these flocks grow larger and there are many more of 

 them. Then the day of breaking flock and mating 

 comes, and with it comes the scattering of sweet song 

 all over the country. Certainly there is music in the 

 blackbird at this time. 



