CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 2. PASSERES. 



1&3 



TUE CKOW-BLACKBIRL). 



h-racula quisccda of ^YiLson — twelve to thirteen inches long; glossy black, with metallic, vio> 

 let, steel-blue, and green reflections upon the head, nock, and breast; green and blue reflections 

 upon the wings and tail. It has a long, straight bill, with the nostrils placed in triangular grooves 

 on each side of the base. The wings are pointed, and the hind toe is long, and armed with a 

 strong curved claw. From the interior of the upper mandible a sharp, bony process descends into 

 the mouth, resembling the broken blade of a peidcnife. This is supposed to assist in breaking up 

 the food. The tail is long and graduated, with the sides curved upward, whence the name of 

 Boat-Tails has been given to this species. They range from the Gulf of Mexico to fifty degrees 

 north. In the Southern States they are constant residents; in the Middle and Eastern States 

 they are migratory. They appear in loose flocks in April, and, alighting upon the tall trees in 

 the villages, utter a cheerful salutation, as if rejoiced to return to their native haunts. They breed 

 m the orcliards and culti\ated grounds, making large nests of grass and mud upon trees, and lay- 

 ing five or six dull green eggs, blotched with olive. They feed on grubs, caterpillars, moths, beetles, 

 and grain of various kinds. They are great depredators upon the fields of Indian corn in all their 

 stages, tearing up the planted seed as soon as the infant blade makes its appearance, and devouring 

 the milky kernels upon the ears when they have thus far adx-anced toward maturity. Scarecrows 



