BRONZED CRACKLE. 289 



GENUS QUISCALUS VIEILLOT. 



SUBGBNUS QUISCALUS. 

 QUISCALUS QUISCULA ^ENEUS (RIDGW.). 



209. Bronzed Crackle. (5116) 



Metallic tints, rich, deep and uniform ; head and neck all round, rich, silky 

 steel-blue, this strictly confined to these portions, and abruptly defined behind, 

 varying in shade from an intense Prussian blue to brassy -greenish, the latter 

 tint always, when present, most apparent on the neck, the head always more 

 violaceous ; lores, velvety -black ; entire body, above and below, uniform 

 continuous metallic brassy -olive, varying to burnished golden olivaceous-bronze, 

 becoming gradually uniform metallic purplish or purplish -violet on wings and 

 tail, the last more purplish ; primaries, violet-black ; bill, tarsus and toes, 

 pure black ; iris, sulphur-yellow. Length, 12.50 to 13.50; wing, 6.00; tail, 6.00; 

 culmen, 1.26; tarsus, 1.32; third and fourth quills, longest and equal; first, 

 shorter than fifth ; projection of primaries beyond secondaries, 1.28 ; graduation 

 of the tail, 1.48. (Ridgumy.) 



HAB. From the Alleghaiiies and New England north and west to Hudson 

 Bay and the Rocky Mountains. 



Nest, coarse and bulky, composed of twigs and weeds, with a mixture 

 of mud, often placed in a spruce or hemlock tree, sometimes in a bush over- 

 hanging the water, and occasionally in a hollow stub or deserted woodpecker's 

 hole. 



Eggs, four to six, smoky -blue with irregular dark brown blotches, lines and 

 spots. 



The Bronzed Grackle was christened by Mr. Ridgway at the Pro- 

 ceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, in June, 

 1869. Prior to that date, Dr. Baird had separated one as peculiar 

 to Florida, but all the others were supposed to belong to the species 

 named by Linnaeus, Quiscalus quiscula, or Purple Grackle. Mr. 

 Ridgway, on comparing a large number of specimens from different 

 points, found the group to contain two well-defined sub-species, and 

 his decision has now been generally adopted. The original Purple 

 Grackle is the most southern bird of the three, its habitat being given 

 as "Atlantic States from Florida to Long Island," while our present 

 form is said to extend from the Alleghaiiies and New England, 

 north and west to Hudson Bay and the Rocky Mountains. Since 

 giving my attention to this subject, I have made a point of examining 

 all available mounted Crow Blackbirds in barber shops, country 

 taverns, etc., and find that all belong to the Bronzed division. 



It is quite possible that a few of the others may yet be found 

 along our southern border, but unquestionably the Crow Blackbird 

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