286 



BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 



5'. Claws of side toes not reaching beyond middle toe. 



6. Side claws not reaching to end of middle toe ; summer males 

 glossy blue black Scolecophagus, p. 299. 



6'. Side claws reaching to end of middle toe ; 

 males with red shoulder patches. 



Agelaius, p. 289. 



QENUS DOLICHONYX. 



Fig. 357. 



494. Dolichonyx oryzivorus (Linn.). BOBOLINK. 



Bill conic-acute, cutting edges bent in ; tail shorter than wing, with 

 stiffened acute feathers ; wings long and pointed ; feet stout, tarsus shorter 

 than middle toe and claw ; claws all very large. Adult male in spring : 

 under parts wholly black ; upper parts black, with cream or buff y brown 

 patch on hind neck, light streaking on wing and fore parts of back, gray- 

 ish scapulars, and white hind back, rump, arid upper tail coverts. Adult 

 female : ground color yellowish brown, paler and plain on under parts 



Fig. 358. 



except for blackish streaks on flanks ; heavily streaked on upper parts ; 

 crown with buffy brown median stripe. Adult male in fall and winter : 

 similar to adult female, but streaking of upper parts blacker. Young, 

 first fall and winter : like adult female. Young, first plumage: like adult 

 female but more buffy, with necklace of faint dusky spots ; flank streaks 

 obsolete. Male : length (skins) 6.30-7.40, wing 3.69-4.00, tail 2.47-2.70, 

 bill .5S-.69. Female : length (skins) 6.00-6.55, wing 3.35-3.53, tail 2.31- 

 2.54, bill .57-.61. 



Distribution. Breeds in Transition zone in open prairies and cleared 

 districts from Assiniboia south through the middle states, and from the 

 Atlantic west to Idaho and eastern Nevada ; migrates to the West Indies 

 and South America. 



Nest. In a slight depression in the ground, made of dried weed stems 

 and grasses. Eggs : 5 to 7, from gray to reddish brown, irregularly spot- 

 ted and blotched with browns and purples. 



Food. Insects, including grasshoppers, locusts, weevils, and caterpil- 

 lars ; also rice, oats, and weed seed. 



The bobolink seems to be gradually spreading westward, and 

 wherever it goes adds another rare song bird to the country. ' Robert 

 o' Lincoln ' is a rollicking, joyous fellow, his song bubbling up from 

 a well of good spirits. No eastern orchard or meadow seems quite 

 complete without him and May is not May until he has come. 



