MEADOW LARKS AND BLACKBIRDS: Family Icteridae [52.7] 



and Umpqua Valleys but becomes scarcer in the Willamette and tributary 

 valleys, where it is confined largely to the brushy growths along the 

 watercourses, with only an occasional pair frequenting the farmyards. 

 The only record we have for the coast is one from Coos County, June 19, 

 192.0, when Gabrielson saw a bird at Bridge. It arrives in April (earliest 

 date, April 13, Josephine County) and remains until August (latest date, 

 September 10, Klamath County). 



The hanging nests, skillfully attached to small twigs by their rims, are 

 airy baskets made of dry grasses, horse hair, and other similar material 

 and are among the most beautifully woven of birds' nests. The same pair 

 will often return year after year to nest in the same grove or even the 

 same tree, three to five or more nests in various stages of destruction 

 being visible when the leaves have fallen. Eggs are laid from May 16 

 to June 15. 



Brewer's Blackbird: 



Euphagus cyanocephalus (Wagler) 



DESCRIPTION. " Adult male in summer: Glossy greenish black, head and neck purplish 

 black. Adult male in winter: similar to summer male, but more highly glossed. 

 Adult female in summer: head, neck, and under parts brownish gray, faintly glossed 

 with violet on head and neck and with green on under parts; upper parts darker, 

 wings and tail more glossed with bluish green. Adult female in winter: similar to 

 summer female, but paler, more buffy gray anteriorly. Immature male in first winter: 

 like adult male, but feathers largely tipped with grayish brown. Young: like winter 

 females, but feathers with different texture and without gloss. Male: length (skins) 

 8.40-9.75, wing 4.73-5.17, tail 3.61-4.12., bill .83-. 93. Female: length (skins) 

 7.80-8.70, wing 4.56-4.71, tail 3.43-3.65, bill .75-. 81." (Bailey) Nest: In trees or 

 bashes, made of sticks, dry grass, weed stalks, etc., more or less mixed with mud, 

 and lined with rootlets and hair. Eggs: 4 to 6, gray or green heavily blotched, 

 streaked and spotted with browns and lavender (Plate 89, B). 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from central British Columbia, southern Alberta, 

 and Manitoba south to Lower California, New Mexico, and Texas. Winters south 

 to Central America. In Oregon: Common permanent resident throughout State. 



BREWER'S BLACKBIRD is among the most common of Oregon birds and 

 can be found in small numbers in all parts of the State. It is particularly 

 fond of the open country and shows a marked preference for the pastures 

 and fields of cultivated farms. It is tame and unsuspicious and shares 

 with such species as the Meadowlark and Robin almost universal distri- 

 bution as well as fondness for the vicinity of human habitations. It is a 

 rare farmstead, indeed, that does not have its quota of these shining 

 blackbirds with white or straw-colored eyes. We have records for every 

 county, but the species is most abundant in the farming sections. The 

 numbers increase markedly in late February and begin to decrease in 



