PASSERES — QUISCALIDiE — QTJISCALUS. 137 



State, they are, for instance, far less numerous than they were fifteen or twenty years ago. 

 They breed in every part of the State, laying five or six dull green eggs blotched with dark 

 olive. Their food consists of grubs, caterpillars, moths, beetles, and grain of various kinds. 

 They are found from the Gulf of Mexico to the 57th parallel of north latitude. They are 

 constant residents in the Southern States. 



THE RUSTY CROW BLACKBIRD. 



QlIISCALUS FERRUGINEUS. 



PLATE XXIII. FIG. 50. 



(STATE COLLECTION.) 



V 



Rusty Oriole. Pennant, Arct. Zool. Vol. 2, p. 260. 



Gracula ferruginea. Wilson, Am. Orn. Vol. 3, p. 41, pi. 21, fig. 3. Pendulinus ater, Vikillot. 



Q. ferrugineus. Bonaparte, Ann. Lye. Vol. 2, p. 55. Aodubon, folio, pi. 147. 



Rusty Blackbird. Nuttall, Man. Orn. Vol. 1, p. 199. Scolicophagus, Richardson, F. B. A. Vol. 2, p. 286. 



Audobon, B. of Am. Vol 4, p. 65, pi. 222. Peabody, Birds of Mass. p. 286. 

 Q. ferrugineus, Rusty Grakle. GiraPd, Birds of Long island, p. 146. 



Characteristics. Glossy black, more or less rusty. Tail slightly rounded. Female, 

 brownish black ; belly and rump inclining to ash. Length, 9j inches. 



Description. Bill comparatively slender : both mandibles even ; the lower slightly curved 

 down at the tip. Tail about two inches longer than the tips of the closed wings. 



Color of the male in full plumage, glossy black with bluish reflections, but more fre- 

 quently intermixed with rusty brown. Female, with duller plumage, and a lightish line over 

 the eye ; lores and ear-feathers dark brown or black. Young, dusky brown. 



Length, 9-0-9-5. Alar spread, 14-0-14-5. 



The Rusty Blackbird has the same habits with the preceding, but is not, at least in this 

 State, so numerous. It appears in this vicinity about the middle of April, and leaves us in 

 November and occasionally as late as January. Their eggs are light blue, spotted and 

 streaked with brown and black. Their food is the same with that of the preceding species. 

 It is not known whether they breed in this State, but it is probable that they do in the 

 northern distirict, for according to Audubon they breed in Maine and farther north. Their 

 geographical range extends from 24° to 68° north. 



(EXTRA-LIMITAL.) 



Q. major. (Aud. B. of Am. Vol. 4, p, 52, pi. 220.) Glossy black. Tail wedge-shaped, reaching 



nearly five inches beyond the wings. Bony keel small. Female, light brown beneath. Length, 



16 inches. Southern States. 

 Q. breweri. (Aud. B. of Am. Vol. 7, p. 345, pi. 492.) Glossy black. Head, cheeks and sides of the 



neck with purple reflections. Length, 10-0. Upper Missouri. 



[Fauna — Part 2.] 18 



