ICTERID^. XXXIV. 91 



f Bill horn-blue, very acute ; black or olivaceous, with orange 



or yellow ICTERUS, 6. 



ff Bill blackish ; plumage every where streaked } usually a 

 rusty tinge on throat and bend of wing. 



? of AGEUEUS, 3. 

 fff Bill jet black; plumage in $ black, in ? duller, streaky, or 



plain brown. 

 \ Glossy black ; bend of wing red, bordered by bufly and 



whitish $ of AGEL^US, 3. 



\\ Black ; head and neck rich lustrous brown. 



3 of MOLOTHRUS, 2. 



\\\ Iridescent black throughout ; wings scarcely longer 

 than tail ; length more than 10. . QUISCALUS, 8. 

 \\\\ Black, often obscured by brownish or rusty; no red or 

 yellow ; wings longer than tail ; length 9 to 10. 



SCOLECOPHAGUS, 7. 



** Length less than 7. 

 a. Dusky gray brown ; bill blackish, shortened, finch-like. 



? of MOLOTHRUS, 2. 



aa. Black with chestnut or orange (4), or else olive and yellow- 

 ish (?) ; bill acute, bluish or brown. . . ICTERUS, 6. 



/. DOLICHONYX, Swainson. BOBOLINKS. 



1. D. oryz/vorus, (I,.) Sw. BOBOLINK. REED BIRD. 

 RICE BIRD. * in Spring black, neck buffy, shoulders and 

 rump ashy white, back streaky; $ and fall $ yellowish 

 brown, streaked above, dull yellow birds, resembling 

 sparrows but known by the acute tail feathers; L. 7; 

 W. 4; T. 3. E. U. S., abundant in meadows northward, 

 where, in the breeding season, it is our merriest and most 

 delightful songster. Retiring southward in the fall, it 

 fattens in the rice swamps and becomes a "game bird." 



2. MOLOTHRUS, Swainson. Cow BIRDS. 

 1. M. ater, (Bodd.) Gray. Cow BIRD. $ iridescent 

 black, head and neck glossy brown; $ much smaller. 



