Family Icteridce Red- Winged Blackbird 127 



70. RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 



SWAMP BLACKBIRD ; MARSH BLACKBIRD 



(Agelaius phceniceus.) 



Male: entirely black, save for a red patch bordered behind with 

 yellow on each shoulder. (The red feathers are sometimes dis- 

 placed, so that they do not show.) Beak and feet strong and 

 dark (in male black). Bird nearly as large as a robin. Female : 

 upper parts in general, including wings and tail, faded black; 

 head sopiewhat mottled with whitish ; under parts white, 

 heavily marked with blackish brown. 



Gay soldier blackbirds, wearing on their shoulders 

 Red gold-edged epaulets. THAXTER. 



THESE showy birds are inhabitants of low, wet 

 fields, thickets, and marshes. They are often to be 

 seen on the ground, either singly or in pairs ; and they 

 are especially noticeable in such circumstance from 

 the fact that they walk instead of hopping, as do most 

 birds. In the fall, when parental duties are over, 

 they assemble in large flocks, and may then be found 

 on any open ground. They come to the neighbor- 

 hood of Boston in late March, and leave in October. 



The nest is built in swamps or meadows, either on 

 a tussock on the ground or in a bush, especially the 

 alder. Eggs are laid in the latter part of May. 



The redwing has a very characteristic note. 

 Thoreau translated it into con-qua-ree ; Emerson 

 says, "The redwing flutes his oka-lee." The first 

 two syllables are short and liquid, the third is a 



