BIRDS OF 



GENUS AGELAIUS VIEILLOT. 



193. AGELAIUS PHCENICEUS (LINN.). 498. 



Red-winged Blackbird. 



Male uniform lustrous black ; lesser wing-coverts scarlet, broadly 

 bordered by brownish-yellow or brownish-white, the middle row of coverts 

 being entirely of this color, and sometimes the greater row likewise are 

 similar, producing a patch on the wing nearly as large as the red one. 

 Occasionally there are traces of red on the edge of the wing and below. The 

 female smaller, under 8 ; everywhere streaked ; above blackish-brown with 

 pale streaks, inclining on the head to form median and superciliary stripes ; 

 below whitish, with very many sharp dusky streaks ; the sides of the head, 

 throat and the bend of the wing tinged with reddish or fulvous. The young 

 male at first like the female, but larger ; apt to have a general buffy or 

 fulvous suffusion, and bright bay edgings of the feathers of the back, wings 

 and tail, and soon showing black patches. Length, 8-9 ; wing, 4^-5 ; 

 tail, 34-4. 



HAB. North America in general, from Great Slave Lake south to Costa 

 Rica. 



Nest, large for the size of the bird ; composed of rushes and sedges 

 loosely put together and lined with grass and a few horse hairs ; usually 

 fastened to the bulrushes, sometimes placed in a bush or tussock of grass 

 near the ground. 



Eggs, 4 to 5 ; pale blue, curiously marked with brown. 



This species is generally distributed and breeds in suitable 

 places throughout the province. It is very common near 

 Hamilton, breeding abundantly in the Dundas Marsh, and in 

 the reedy inlets all around the shores of Hamilton Bay. As soon 

 as the young broods are able to fly, old and young congregate 

 in flocks, frequenting the stubble fields and moist meadows 

 by day, and roosting at night among the reeds in the marsh. 

 As the - season advances the numbers are increased by others 

 arriving from the north, and during October very large flocks 

 are observed in the places they frequent. Towards the end of 

 that month, if the weather gets cold, they all move off to the 

 south, and none have been observed here during the winter. 



196 



