The Blackbird Family 337 



may be distinguished from 



the grackle by its shorter tail. 



The female is so different 



that it is hard to believe that 



she lays the eggs from which 



such handsome blackbirds 



develop. She is ij inches 



shorter than the male, shows FMey & Bohiman 



little or no red color and no FIG. 210. Young red-winged 



,.,,,,, , . ! blackbirds. 



solid black, her entire plum- 

 age being streaked with black and light colors. In 

 many of the states redwings are to be seen at all 

 seasons. In the Northern states and in Canada they 

 arrive very early in the spring, the males coming first. 

 Unlike most song birds, they are polygamous. They 

 make their homes in marshes, where their bulky nest 

 is made of coarse grass and is supported by reeds, flags, 

 or sometimes bushes, not far above the water. 



More than half the food of the red-winged blackbirds 

 consists of grass and weed seeds, such as foxtail, smart- 

 weed, dock, and sorrel. One fourth of their food is 

 insects, mainly injurious kinds, such as weevils, cut- 

 worms, army worms, and grasshoppers. Before many 

 of their breeding places had been drained, there were 

 sometimes flocks of red-winged blackbirds numbering 

 from 20,000 to 50,000. When such flocks visited grain- 

 fields, the farmer lost much of his crop. But where 

 these birds are not very numerous, they usually do more 

 good than harm. 



Brewer's blackbird. Brewer's blackbird is familiar 

 to those who live in the western half of the United 



