106 BIRDS OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



494. BOBOLINK (Dolichonyx oryzivorus.) 



Found locally over the State as a summer resident. 



The male is black with a buffy patch on nape (hind neck), 

 and a broad white streak on lower back which divides on the 

 upper back and reaches to the shoulders. The female above, 

 is buff streaked with black; below, whitish. 



A bird of the low prairie which utters its ecstatic, bubbling 

 song on the wing, and in a straight-away flight. 



495. COWBIRD (Molothrus ater ater.) 



Abundant over the State as a summer resident. Nearly 

 eight inches in length. The male is black with head and neck 

 light brown. Female brownish gray. 



To some people a Blackbird is simply a Blackbird, but 

 there are many kinds of Blackbirds, and the Cowbird is the 

 worst. It builds no nest of its own, but lays its speckled egg 

 in the nests of other birds Redwings, Warblers, Vireos, Tow- 

 hees, etc. Its egg hatches more quickly than other birds' eggs, 

 and the young grow very rapidly, crowding their nestmates un- 

 duly and taking most of the food : this frequently results in the 

 death of the rightful young. Except when watching for oppor- 

 tunity to lay their eggs in other birds' nests they are usually 

 seen in pastures near cattle and horses. They feed on the ground 

 insects disturbed by the stock and not on flies that harass the 

 cows and horses. 



497. YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus.) 



The gleaming yellow head and throat of the male makes a 

 marked object in field or marsh. The nesting habits are the 

 same as Redwing's. The females of Yellowhead and Redwing 

 are not readily distinguished by the unpracticed observer. A 

 summer resident. 



This Blackbird is not so abundant in South Dakota as 

 formerly. Are they decreasing in numbers or have they changed 

 their nesting grounds? 



498. RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (Agelaius phoeniceus phoeniceus.) 



The "Redwing" is familiar to every boy, at least in South 

 Dakota. It is a bird of the marsh, of the reed-encircled slough, 



