DOLICHONYX ORYZIVORUS. 129 



FAMILY XVI. ICTERID^E. THE ORIOLES AND STARLINGS. 



/>'///. int/i the upjicr mandible but little curved and tlie lower more or less swollen at the base, unnotched. Coracoids al- 

 shnrti r than tin top of the keel which is higher than one third the Icnyth of the coracoids. Marginal indentations exceed- 

 ing in Jcpth the hciyht of the keel. Primaries, nine. 



Tlii* family belongs exclusively to the New World and is well represented in the United States. Although some spe- 

 appruach the preceding Family quite closely, yet the sternal characters are quite different, the marginal indentations 

 being always much deeper. In other anatomical characters the members of the family agree with the preceding, for example 

 both are provided with small cocca, a little better developed perhaps in the present than in the former family. Both are 

 pro\idcd with agnll, but the stomach, which in Fringillidte is always muscular, varies greatly in this family, often afford- 

 ing good generic characters. The females are frequently smaller in size and are always duller in color than the males. 



GENUS I. DOLICHONYX. THE RICE BUNTINGS. 



(!KX. CH. Bill, thick and conical, shorter than the head. Upper mandible, but little curved. Winys , much longer than 

 the tail which is rounded, and with the feathers acuminate. Sternum, not stout but broader than one half the Icnyth of the 

 coraraids. Size, small. Stomach, muscular. 



This genus closely resembles some of the members of the preceding Family in many respects, as exhibited by the thick 

 bill, general form, and muscular stomach, yet the marginal indentations exceed in depth the height of the keel. The fe- 

 nmlrs iirc smaller than the males, and are unlike them in plumage during the breeding season, but both sexes are similar at 

 other seasons. 



DOLICHONYX ORYZIVORUS. 

 Bobolink. Rice Bird. 



Dolichonyx oryzivora Sw., Zool., Jour., 1827, 357. 



DESCRIPTION. 



SP. CH. Form, rather slender. Size, medium. Tongue, rather fleshy, provided with a short tuft of terminal, hair- 

 like fibers. Sternum, as given above. 



( 'i ii.oR. Adult male in spring. Black throughout, with a patch on the back of the neck, edge of feathers of the back, 

 and outer webs of primaries and tail, yellowish. Scapularies, rump, upper tail coverts, and patch on the sides near the 

 shoulders, white. Lower back , gray . Secondaries and tertiaries, edged with whitish. Tips of wings and tail, brown. The 

 flanks, tibia, and under tail coverts are narrowly margined with yellowish. Bill, black, bluish at the base of lower mandi- 

 ble. Feet, dark-brown. 



Adult female in spring. Uniform yellowish throughout, broadly streaked above, and more narrowly on sides, flanks and 

 tibia with dark-brown. There are two stripes of dark-brown on the head, mixed with yellowish and two spots back of the 

 eye of the same color. Wings and tail, brown, with the outer webs of all feathers, yellowish-white. Bill, brown, much 

 lighter on lower mandible. Feet, pale-brown. 



Adult male in winter. Similar to the adult female, but larger and yellower, especially below, while the streakings 

 below are more suffused. 



Adult female in winter. Does not differ much from the spring dress, but is somewhat yellower below, and the streak- 

 ings above are more suffused. 



Young male in spring. Quite like the spring adult, but with the white markings overwashed with brownish. The 

 yellow i- nut as elear and the sides and flanks are edged with yellowish. 



Young of the year in spring. The males have all the feathers above and below edged with yellowish, while the other 

 markings arc overwashed with dusky. The bill is also lighter. The female is much yellower below where the streakings 

 are nut as prominent. 



Nestlings. Uniform yellow above and below, with streakings of dusky on the upper parts, and lined on the breast, 

 . and flanks with the same color. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



This species must be a long time in arriving lit maturity, as it is difficult to find a specimen as black beneath as de- 

 Mribed in the 1 ndult dress. Out of some twenty-five skins now before me, only four are in this stage, tin: second plumage 

 being mure common. Specimens of the same age and sex are quite uniform in coloration. Known from all others by the 

 markings given. There is, however, a resemblance between the female of this speri.'s iln i| that of the Black-throated Bunt- 

 ing, but the latter is smaller and has reddish on the wings. Found in summer east of the Rocky Mountains, between lati- 

 tu.iev 38 ami 4H . Winters in the West Indies. 



BIRI>S 01 HolilDA. 17 



