154 XOKTII AMKKirAN KIIIDS.. 



Molothrus pecoris, swainsox. 



cow BLACKBIRD ; COWBIRD. 



Friii'jUla /icmn's, rJMr.i.iN, Sy•^t. Nat. I, 17>^, !tlt> ^Icinalf). — Lath. Ind. (Mn. I. 17i»0, 

 143. — I.H'iir. ViTZfiili. 1>-J:>. Xv)s. s-Ut, 'I'M. Einheritu />ir<»n's, \Vii>. Am. «Mii. II, 

 1*^1<|. 14."., j.l. xviii, f. 1. '2, '■>. /if't-i's jxoiris, I'..in\|'. Ohs. Wilson, 1>S'J4, No. ^S. — 

 All). Oiii. Hio^'. I, 1>:'.1, 4!»:{ : V, l>:i!>. •J:'.:5, 4".>o, pis. \ci.\ ami ci-c-.-xxiv. I,f,rns 

 {Eiithriznidtw) pinii'is, liuN. Syn. 1^28, ijo. — lit. SjK'Ci'hio coiiiit. No. 41. — Nl'TT. 

 Man. I. l-^n-J-. 17S, r_M «'<1..> 11»(». hisscriui jhcoris, Vikill. Nouv. Diet. XXV, ISIJ), 

 •_*•_'. I'saroo/iiis jKiun's, W Mil A. v., Syst. Av. 1S*27, No. "Jl), Mo/offinis jhcoris, SWAIN- 

 S..N, 1'. Ilor.-Aiii. II, l>.n. -'77. — Ki( II. List, 1N37. — I'»<'\. List, 1838. — In. t'ou.sp. 

 l>.'.o, 4:!t;. An.. Syn. 183i>, 13;». ~ In. r.ii.ls Am. IV, 184-J, !•;, pi. tixii. — ("ai!AMs, 

 Mils. II. in. 18.-.1, 1!»3. -lUiiiit, IJiids N. Am. 1>."»8, :.24. — Coopi:!:, Oni. C'aL I, l87o, 

 •2.'»7. — Samif.i.s, 339. — AlJ.KN, I5.FIa.2sl. ' ()iii>lii>< t'l'sni^, (J.mki.in, Sy.st. Nat. 

 L 17SS. 31»3. t Sfm-iiiis iihsrtii'Hs, (Jm;:i.in. Syst. Nat. I, 17SS. 804 'cvitit'iitly a Mu/o- 

 tltnci, ;iii(l pioltahly, J)Ut not ivrtainly, the pivs«Mit sptrifs). Molothrns ohscnrnH, t'.\s- 

 .-<IN. I'r. V\\. Ac. I8t;r., 18 (.Mill Flor.'s, L. Cal.). — ('ooi'KU, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, iHO. 

 ^' Iifcn('< finherizdidts, Daidin." f Slunm>i ju icifi, Laiii. In«L I, 1790, 32(5 (sa!n»> as 

 Sfuni m nhscin-Ks, {iyi.). f FriffjiUtt (dnhiijua, NrrrAi.i., Man. L lJ>^-. 484 (Youn<jf). 

 Sti'i'iius mnx-hispainiT, Buiss. II, 448. 



Si'. CiiAi;. St'toinl (piill loiiiro.^^t : lirst soaicoly .slioricr. Tail iiearly even, or very 

 sliirlitly roundtMl. MaU' with tlu* lu'.-ul. iu<k. and aiitorior hall' of the hrcast liuht 

 ehocolati'-hrown, rather litrhter ahovt*; re.<t of hody lustrous hlack, Avitli a vii-U-t-purple 

 irloss next to tlif Iirowu. ot stcr] Mui- on the Iia<'k, and t)t' Lfri't'ii tl.<o where. Female liirht 

 olivaeeous-ltiowu all ovci-. liLihlorou the head and beneath. IJill and t'eet black. Len<;th, 

 S in<-hes: wiui^-. L4L' ; tail. :5.40. 



1L\H. Initcd States I'roin the Atlantie to Calitornia : not t'ound immediately on the 

 coast of tho Ta.-ilic? Orizaba (S<i.. IS.'.T. 2I::) : Tt-xa.s (Dkksskk. Ibis, ISdo, 4U2) ; Fort 

 Wliipplc. Aii/.i>na (CotKS. 1*. A. N. S. ISbb. !M>); Nevada ami I'tah (Uiugwa' ); Mazatlan, 

 Tchuant<-pt.'c, Cape Si. Lucas. 



The yoiniu" liird of tlu* year is lirowii al»()^ e. ln'ownish-wliite luMu-atli ; tlie 

 throat ininiai'ulale. A nia.xillarv stripe and ohscure streaks thickly crowded 

 across the whole Itreast and siiles. There is a faint indication of a ]>aler 

 su])erciliary stripe. TJie feathers cd" the upper i)arts are all niar<»ined with 

 ])aler. There ait* also indications (d' linht liands on the ivin«>s. These inark- 

 in;4s are all ohscure, hut ]K*ricctly aj)preciahle, and their existence in adult 

 birds of anv s])eciee niav he considered as enihrvonic, and showinu; an 

 inferiority in deuree to the .s})ecies with the under ])art.s }>erfectly ])laiii. 



Sjieciniens i'roin the west a)»pear to have a rather lonu'er and narrower bill 

 than tliose from the east. Sunmier birds cd" Vd\\v. St. Lucas and the llio 

 (Irande are considerably smaller (var. ith^icurus, Cassin). Leni^'th about G.'iO ; 

 wiiiLi", 4.i»i» ; tail, ."'..(Ml. ISoine winti'r skins from the same region are e(|ual 

 in size to the average. 



IJirds of this s])ecies breediiii^ .south of the Kio (irande, as well as those 

 from ('a])e St. Lucas, ]Mazatlan, etc., are very much smaller than those nest- 

 InLi; within the United States ; but the transition between the extremes 

 of size is so gradual that it is almost inipossil»le to strike an average 



