168 



NOliTlI AMEUR'AX BIRDS. 



Sp. Char. First quill nearly as loupr as the secon<l ami ihinl (lonp^est), decidedly loncrer 

 Ihan the lourtli. Tail roiiiitiecj. or sliirlitly in-adiiatetl. (leiieral color I.JAck, iiiflii<lin^< the 

 inner snrtate of wiiiirs and axillaries, hase of lower niandihle all round, feathers adjacent 

 to nostrils lores, upjter eyelids, and reniaininj,' space around the eye. The head autl neck 

 all round; the forepart of the breast, e.xtendnij.; some distance down on the median line, 

 and a somewhat hidden space round the anus, yellow. A conspicuous white pat-h at the 



bast- of the -wing formed by tlie spmious 

 feathers, interrupted by the black alula. 



Female smaller, brownci-; the yellow con- 

 fined to tlie under parts and sides of the head, 

 and a superciliary line. A du.-«ky maxillary 

 line. X<» white on the v^nvj.. Length ol' male, 

 10 inches ; wing, o.GO; tail. 4..')(). 



IIa!!. Wt'stern Ami'rica from Texas. Illinois. 

 "Wisconsin, and Xorth lied liiver, to California, 

 south into Mexico; (ireenland ( Ukinuak[)t); 

 Cuba (Caiuxis, J. Vll. IS.VJ. ;]5»»); Massa- 

 chusetts (Mayxaiu>, D. C. Mass. 1870. Vl'l); 

 A'olusia, Florida (Mus. S. I.) ; Cajjc St. Litcjvs. 



Xanthorrphalus irteroerphalux. 



The color of the yelluw in this species 



varies considerahly ; sonietiuies heing 



almost of a lemon -vellow, sometimes of 



a rich orange. Tliere is an occasional trace of vellow around tlie base of the 



tarsus. Immature males show everv <a-adation between the colors of the 



adult male and female. 



A verv vounLj Itird (4r,lV.V2, Dane Co., Wis.) is duskv above, with feathers 

 of the dorsal rei^'ion broadly tipped with ocliraceous, lesser and middle wing- 

 coverts white tinged witli fulvous, dusky bcdow the surface, greater covert 

 very broadly tipped with fidvous-white ; primary coverts narrowly tij)peo 

 with the same. AVhole lower parts unvariegated iulvous-white ; head all 

 round plain O' raceous, deepest above. 



Haiuts. The YeUow-headed lUackbird is essentitilly a prairie l)ird, and is 

 found in all favorable localities from Texas on the south to Illinois and 

 Wisconsin, and thence to the Pacific. A single s])ecimen is recorded as hav- 

 ing been taken in (Greenland. Tliis was Septem1»er 2, 1S20, at Xencjrtalik. 

 liecently the Smithsonian Museum has received a s[)ecimen from Xew 

 Smyrna, in Florida. In October, 18r)9. a specimen of this bird was taken 

 in Watert<nvn, Mass., and Mr. Cassin mentions the capture of several 

 near Philadelphia. These erratic ap}iearances in jdaces so remote from their 

 centres of reproduction, and from tlieir route in i migration, sufficiently attest 

 tlie nomadic character of this sj)ecies. 



They are found in abundtince in all the urassv meadows or rushy marshes of 

 Illinois and Wisconsin, where they breed in large connnunities. In swamps 

 overgrown with tall rushes, and partially overflowed, they construct their 

 nests ju.st above the water, and build them arr»tnnl the stems of these water- 

 plants, where they are thickest, in such a manner that it is ditticult to 



