ORIOLES. 257 



their young, they often form large flocks. They are then 

 chiefly dependent upon seeds, and are less common in 

 pastures. 



d. There is something ludicrous, and yet pitiable, in the 

 efforts of the male to express his passions musically. It is 

 often as painful to hear him and see him, as to converse with 

 one who stutters badly. He ruffles his feathers, spreads his 

 wings and tail, gives a convulsive movement to his body, and 

 yet produces nothing but a shrill, unmusical cluck-see. He 

 often adds to this, or splutters out at other times, a chattering 

 call, quite distinct from that of any other bird, or utters a few 

 low guttural notes, not audible at a distance. He has in 

 common with other members of his family a loud chuck ; but 

 he is not wholly destitute of musical powers. One may often 

 hear in spring, from the top of some tree, a clear, pensive, 

 but rather shrill whistle, usually followed by a few similar 

 but falling notes. These belong to the Cow-bird, who also 

 whistles sometimes as he takes to wing. 



There is much yet to be studied in the habits of these birds, 

 and much that requires the attention of a specialist.* Even 

 the ornithologist who devotes his time to his proper pursuit is 

 too much occupied in May and June to make the necessary 

 observations. Few monographs in natural history could be 

 more interesting than one of the Cow-birds. 



IV. AGELAIUS. 



A. PHCENICEUS. Red-winged Blackbird. Swamp 

 Blackbird. Marsh Blackbird. " Red-wing." A very 

 common summer resident throughout Massachusetts, f 



a. (J , about nine inches long, lustrous black ; shoulders, 

 scarlet, bordered by a color varying from brownish yellow to 

 whitish. > a ^out 7^ inches long. Back, etc., dark brown 



* This still remains eminently true, meadows deep among the mountains 



W. B. or far back in the primitive forests of 



t One of our most abundant sum- the north. It has been found in Jan- 

 mer birds, breeding in great numbers uary in Connecticut, and of late years 

 wherever there are bushy swamps and a few birds have regularly passed the 

 open marshes of sufficient extent, and winter in a sheltered swamp at Cam- 

 often in smaller colonies about pools or bridge, Massachusetts. W. B. 



