ICTERID^E. XXXIV. 91 



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



or yellow ICTERUS, 6. 



ff Bill blackish ; plumage every where streaked i usually a 

 rusty tinge on throat and bend of wing. 



? of AGEL^US, 3. 

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



plain brown. 

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



whitish ' - . s of AGELJLUS, 3. 



\\ Black ; head and neck rich lustrous brown. 



$ 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. 

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



$ of MOLOTHRUS, 2. 



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

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



/. DOLICHONYX, Swaiiisou. BOBOLINKS. 



1. D. oryzivorus, (L.) Sw. BOBOLINK. REED BIRD. 

 RICE BIRD. in Spring black, neck huffy, 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. 7i; 

 AV. 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, 



