BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



211 



the female, may soon be recognized by the black feathers appearing singly or in 

 patches ; immature males exhibit every possible condition of coloration between that 

 of the old female and of the adult male. 



Male measures about 9 inches in length and 15.25 inches in extent 

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



The Swamp or Red-winged Blackbird, as this well-known species is 

 usually designated, is a common summer resident in Pennsylvania. 

 Arrives in small flocks about March 20 ; males come a few days in ad- 

 vance of females ; both sexes in company leave during 1 the latter part of 

 September. These birds, mainly terrestial when feeding, frequent prin- 

 cipally meadows, fields and swamps. Nests, built early in May and also 

 in July (two broods being sometimes raised in this locality), are placed 

 in tussocks of grass or in low bushes, preferably along the borders of 

 streams or ponds. Nest, Dulky, composed chiefly of coarse grasses, 

 lined with finer grass ; those built on bushes are mostly very compact, 

 others are generally loose and carelessly constructed. The eggs, four 

 to six, a little less than an inch long, and not quite three-fourths of an 

 inch broad, are light-bluish, spotted, blotched and lined with black and 

 purplish-brown. Sometimes several females, with only one male will be 

 found breeding in a swamp or field, at other times the male appears to 

 devote his exclusive attention to one female. A dozen or more nests 

 may frequently be seen in close proximity to each other, and their 

 owners always appear on friendly terms ; when these nesting-places are 

 approached the Bed-wings hover over your head and utter sharp piteous 

 cries. 



Although Swamp Blackbirds sometimes visit cornfields during the 

 planting season, and also again when the corn is in the milky state, the 

 amount of grain which they take or injure is so small that the farmer is 

 seldom heard to utter a complaint against them. 



The following twenty odd records will suffice to show the general 

 nature of the food during the months of March, April and May : 



