THE WORLD'S BIRDS. 121 



North America, and a valued songster in the north ; 

 on its southward migration, however, it is a pest in the 

 rice fields, and is eaten as a delicacy under the name of 

 " Rice-Bird." The Red-winged Blackbird (Agelceus 

 phceniceus) is about as large as a thrush, black in the 

 male, with scarlet patches, on the pinions ; the female 

 lark-coloured. This is a useful insect-destroyer, but 

 also destructive to grain. The Meadow-Lark is a 

 terrestrial short-tailed species, of the size of a thrush, 

 lark-coloured above and yellow below. It is a most 

 useful bird, but does not equal the true Larks in song. 

 Some very similar South American species, with scarlet 

 underparts, are locally known as " Robins." 



The " Golden Robin " of the United States is also a 

 bird of this family, the Baltimore Oriole (Icterus Balti- 

 more), of the size of a lark, pied black and rich orange 

 in the male, more olive in the female ; like all the 

 genus Icterus and allied forms, it is arboreal. A South 

 American Icterus, the Brazilian Troupial (Icterus 

 vulgaris), is one of the most commonly imported of 

 this family, though all are easily kept. It is as big as 

 our Blackbird, pied black and orange, with bare grey 

 eye-patch and a white patch on the wing. These species 

 build hanging nests, much like those of Weavers, but 

 with the entrance at the top. 



The Cow-Birds (Molobrus) are finch-billed, ground- 

 feeding birds of this family, about the size of Starlings, 

 parasitic in habits like some Cuckoos. The familiar 

 North American species (M. pecoris) is black in the 

 male, with a brown head, brown in the female ; but 

 the South American Glossy Cow- bird (M. bonariensis) , 

 glossy purple in the male and sooty brown in the female, 

 is the best known in England, being more frequently 

 imported as a cage-bird than any other member of this 

 family. 



Tyrants (Tyrannincz) are American, and especially 

 South American, birds. In their food and general 



