108 THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. 



structure have been generally progressive in the order of 

 time, in the lower forms of animal life there are some 

 genera which seem to have stood almost from the first 

 dawn of life to the present time. A careful bound- 

 ing of the localities occupied by the various animals and 

 plants constitutes the science of their geographical distri- 

 bution. 



In respect to the great class of birds, the whole world 

 has its Owls, Hawks, Vultures, Sparrows, Shrikes, Starlings, 

 etc.; but the species differs in different parts of the world. 



THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. 



In the most typical sense the Starlings are confined to 

 the Old World; but, by a little broader generalization, 

 many birds of our own country may be included under that 



THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. 



head. For instance, on this 7th of March, as I stand just 

 south of a bluff, by the margin of a cat-tail swamp, I see a 

 large flock of the so-called Red-winged Starlings or Black- 



