March 
stork knoweth her appointed time, in the 
words of the prophet, so does the purple 
grackle, or crow-blackbird ; and, punctual to 
its appointment, it arrived in the Park from the 
south on the 13th. This is a sort of refined 
crow, about a foot long, with glossy black 
plumage glistening with metallic tints of blue, 
purple, violet, and bronze. 
Walking among the leafless trees, one hears a 
cracked and wheezy whistle, and, looking about, 
discovers, at the summit of a high tree, its form 
sharply outlined against the sky, this not alto- 
gether welcome arrival—the grackle. Its posi- 
tion tallies with its disposition, holding itself 
aloof in evident dislike and suspicion of man- 
kind,—and mankind warmly reciprocates the 
sentiment. Its iridescent colors gleam richly in 
the sunlight ; but at close range it is a bit un- 
canny, with its staring, yellowish eye. Itisa 
very gregarious bird, often found in large flocks, 
and has a varied diet, which makes it somewhat 
beneficial, but still more injurious, to husbandry, 
and it has the crow’s disreputable habit of feed- 
ing upon the eggs and young of other birds. 
As asongster (for scientifically it is one of the 
song-birds) it is a most dismal failure. All the 
ills that ever attacked a singer’s larynx seem con- 
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