ICTEKIDJ: — TIIK OPJOLKS. 1G3 



ccuiinioii one souiuls liku coti-ciir-ir. Iliit tluTe is also im ahuost eiidles;^ 

 luiiiglini^ (tl' j^utlunil, civakini;, or clear utteraiKH's that defy deiHTijition. 



Their e^«j;s vary ;4really in size; the lar;,a'st measures l.(i8 inelies l»y .82 of 

 an inch, the smallest .IM) i»y .(>'». They averaj^e about an inch in leMLjth and 

 .77 of an inch in lireadth. They are oval in shape, have a li^ht-hluish 

 ground, and are marbled, lin«'d, and blotcheil with markings of light and 

 dark purple and Idack. These markings are almost wholly about the larger 

 end, and are very varying. 



Agelaius phceniceus, var gubernator, H(x\. 



CBIM80N-8H0ULDEBED BLACKBIRD. 



Fsarocolius gulx-rnutor, Waulkk, Isi^s, lfeo2, iv, 281. Aijihiins iiulHrnatur, Hon. List, 1838. 

 — In. Cons|M'(tu.s, 185(1, 430. — Aid. Syn. 183i», 141. — In. IJinls Am. IV, 1842, 2^, 

 pi. ccxv. — XKWitKKUV, W W. \\. l\i'p. V^l, IV, 18.'»7, 8«. — Uaiud, Uinls N. Am. 18ri8, 

 i>21». — Hi-KiiM. X, S, 53 (m-st). — CoorKir, Oni. ("al. I, 1870, 263. Icterus {Z^mthor- 

 Htuf) (jubcruatur, NrriALL, Man. I, (2d od.,) 1840, 187. 



Sp. Char. Bill rather s-horter than the head, without any longitudinal sulci, i)Ut with 

 faint traces of transverse ones at the base of the lower jaw. Tail 'ounded. First ciuill 

 nearly equal to the Iburth. 



Male. Throughout of a lustrous velvety-black, with a p^reenish reflection. The lesser 

 coverts rich crimson; the middle coverts brownish-yellow at the base, but the exposed 

 portion black. Wing, .').00 ; tail, .'3.00; culmen, .00; tarsus, 1.10. 



Feutule. Nearly unifortn dark slaty-brown; an indistinct superciliary stri{)e, an indica- 

 tion of a maxillary strij»e, and blended streaks on chin and throat delicate pale }»cach- 

 blossom pink, this on the jufjulum interrupted by dusky streaks running in lonjritudinal 

 series; lesser wing-coverts tins^eil with dark wine-red. Wings with just appreciable 

 paler edges to the feathers. Wing. 4.20 ; tail, 3.20. 



Hab. Pacific Province of United States, and Western Mexico, to Colima; Western 

 Nevada (Kn)L;wAv). ? Xalapa (Sclater, 18.'>1), 3G5). 



In the female and all the immature stages, the dusky beneath is largely 

 in excess of the light streaks; the superciliary light stripe is badly defined, 

 and there is no trace of a median light stripe on the crown. These charac- 

 ters distinguish this race from pliaiikrAi.'i ; while the rounded instead of 

 scpiare tail, and brown instead of pure white border to middle wing-coverts, 

 distinguish it from corresponding stages of tricolor. 



Habits. The Crimson-shouldered Blackbird was first met with by ^Ir. 

 Townsend, on the Columbia Biver, where two specimens were obtained, 

 ^vhicll were described by Mr. Audubon, in his Synopsis, in 1839. Xo infor- 

 mation in regard to its habits, distribution, or nesting, was obtained by either 

 Mr. Townsend or by his companion, Mr. Xuttall. 



This species, or local race, whicheyer it is considered, occurs from the Co- 

 lumbia Biver south throughout California. It is given doubtingly as also 

 from the Colorado Biver, but Dr. Cooper \yas only able to detect there the 

 common pJueniceus. According to the observations of that careful natural- 



