54: FRIENDS WORTH KNOWING. 



one which the bronzed grakle of the Mississippi valley (var. 

 ceneus) especially makes use of. 



Crow blackbirds' eggs are among the first on every boy's 

 string, and until he gains experience the young collector 

 supposes he has almost as many different species represent- 

 ed as he has specimens, so much do they differ, even in the 

 same nestful, in respect to color, shape, and size. Their 

 length averages about 1.25 by .90 of an inch, but some are 

 long, slender, and pointed, while others are round, fat, and 

 blunt at both ends. The ground color may be any shade of 

 dirty white, light blue, greenish, or olive brown ; the mark- 

 ings consist of sharply-defined spots and confused blotches, 

 scratches, and straggling lines of obscure colors, from blue- 

 black to lilac and rusty brown sometimes scantily " and 

 prettily marbled upon the surface of the egg, and some- 

 times painted on so thick as to wholly conceal the ground 

 color. 



The crow blackbirds are in the advance-guard of the re- 

 turning hosts of northward bound migrants, making their 

 appearance in small scattering flocks, and announcing their 

 presence by loud smacks frequently repeated. They obtain 

 most of their food from the ground, and walk about with 

 great liveliness, scratching up the leaves, turning over chips, 

 and poking about the pastures for insects and seeds softened 



