SONG-BIRDS. Blackbirds 



Rusty Blackbird : ScolecopJiagus carolinus. 



Thrush Blackbird. 



Length: 9-9.50 inches. 



Male : In breeding-plumage. Glossy black with metallic glints and a 



rusty wash. In autumn more decidedly rust-coloured. Bill 



and feet black. 



Female : Deep rusty brown above, grayish below. 

 Song : Only a clucking call note. 

 Season: Common migrant; April, October, and November; may 



winter. 



Breeds : From northern New England northward. 

 Nest: Bulky, of dried grasses, lined with mud and slung among 



reeds or bushes over water like that of the Red-wing. 

 Eggs : 4, colouring very variable, greenish blue to grayish white, 



mottled with brown. 

 Range : Eastern North America, west to Alaska and the Plains. 



You may identify these inconspicuous Blackbirds by 

 their pale, straw-coloured eyes, and the rusty wash that 

 dims their feathers, also from the fact that in spring they 

 arrive in single pairs and not in flocks like the Grackles, 

 while in fall they travel in small flocks and mingle with the 

 Cowbirds in the pastures. 



Purple Grackle: Quiscalus quiscula. 



Crow Blackbird. 



PLATE VI. FIG. 6. 



Length: 12-13.50 inches. 



Male and Female: Glossy metallic black, iridescent tints on head, 

 tail, and wings. Iris bright yellow, tail longer than wings, feet 

 black. Female more dull and smaller. 



Song : A crackling, wheezy squeaking ; call note a rasping chirp. 



Season: Common summer resident. I have also seen them in every 

 month but January and February. 



Breeds : Through range, most freely in the northern part of it. 



Nest : A carefully built nest of rather miscellaneous materials, mud- 

 lined, usually in trees, sometimes in a hollow tree. In ever- 

 greens in many localities but never here, orchards being their 

 favourite spot. 



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