368 BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 



favorite resort is among the cabbage palmettos, upon the berries of 

 which it feeds. 



51 Ib. Q. q. seneus Ridgw. BRONZED GRACKLE. Ad. <?. Head, 

 neck, throat, and upper breast all around varying from brilliant metallic 

 purple to bluish green or steel-blue; back metallic seal -bronze, the feathers 

 without iridescent bars; wings and tail metallic purplish or bluish black; 

 lower breast and belly similar to the back but duller. Ad. 9 . Much duller, 

 the back and belly brownish, sometimes without metallic reflections and 

 never with iridescent bars. W., 5'62; T., 5'04; B., 1'21. 



Range. Central and e. N. A. Breeds from Great Slave Lake, cen. Kee- 

 watin, N. S., and N. F., s. to Mont., and Colo. (e. of the Rocky Mts.) s. 

 to San Antonio, Tex., Gulf States, cen. La., cen. Miss., cen. Ala., W. Pa,, 

 cen. N. Y., and Conn. (s. of N. Y. breeds only w. of the Alleghanies) ; win- 

 ters mainly from the Ohio Valley s. to s. Tex. ; casual in migration on the 

 s. Atlantic coast. 



Washington, rare T. V., between Feb. 20 and Apl. 17. Ossining, toler- 

 ably common T. V., Apl.; Nov. Cambridge, abundant S. R., Mch. 10- 

 Nov. 1; occasional in winter. N. Ohio, abundant S. R., Mch. 1-Nov. 15; 

 rarely winters. Glen Ellyn, common S. R., Mch. 5-Nov. 15. SE. Minn., 

 common S. R., Mch. 18-Nov. 1; rare in winter. 



Nesting date, Cambridge, May 2; Grinnell, Iowa, May 2; se. Minn., 

 Apl. 25. 



"The general habits of the Bronzed Grackle are in all respects 

 identical with those of the Purple Grackle. . . . 



"From an almost equal familiarity with the two birds we are able 

 to say that their notes differ decidedly, especially those of the male 

 during the breeding season, the 'song' of the western bird being very 

 much louder arid more musical or metallic than that of its eastern 

 relative" (Ridgway). 



513. Megaquiscalus major major (VieilL}. BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE. 

 Ad. c?. Glossy bluish blank; head, throat, and breast more purplish, wings 

 and tail more blackish. Ad. 9. Much smaller, upperparts blackish brown, 

 underparts soiled ochraeeous-buff. d* L., IG'OO; W., 7'50; T., 7'00; B., 155. 



Range. Austroriparian fauna from Chesapeake Bay to Fla., and w. 

 to the e. coast of Tex. 



Nest, bulky and compact, of grasses, seaweed, etc., with a median layer 

 of mud or partially decayed vegetation, in colonies in bushes. Eggs, 3-5, 

 pale bluish white, frequently tinged with vinaceous-brown, singularly 

 spotted, blotched, and scrawled with purplish or blackish, 1*32 x "90. Date, 

 Ft. Pierce, Fla., Mch. 20; Ft. Macon, N. C., Apl. 26; Accomac Co., Va., 

 Apl. 28. 



Boat-tail Grackles are rarely if ever found far from water. Shallow 

 lakes or marshy lagoons grown with aquatic plants are their favorite re- 

 sorts. Here they may be seen in small groups, which usually contain more 

 males than females, walking or jumping from plant to plant, sometimes 

 springing into the air to catch a passing insect, or wading along the shore 

 in search of food. Their usual notes are hoarse, rather forced whistles; 

 more rarely they utter a singular rolling call, which bears a close resem- 

 blance to the sound producd by a Coot in pattering over the water. 

 The Great-tailed Grackle, the larger southern form of this species, is 

 unquestionably polygamous, but it is unknown whether the Boat-tail 

 has more than one mate. 



