AGEL&US PHOSNICF.US. 135 



Young female. Similar to the adult but has no rosaceous on the throat, or red on the shoulder. There is more rufous 

 alvove. especially in winter. 



You nt/ malt nl' lln \/ir in .i/>rin;/. With thefeath'Ts above widely margined with rufous, especially on the shoulders, 

 where there :ire luit !'" indications nf searl.'i. There an- superciliary lines and a slight maxillary line. All the feathers 

 below are edged with whitish. The ground color is hlack, however, but this is rather brownish, especially on the tips of 

 the win::*. 



Younij malt uf the year in winter. Similar in color to the female, being brown above, with the feathers margined with 

 yellowish-white an-.l reddish. White, beneath, streaked with dark-brown. There is a tinge of yellow on the throat. No 

 indications whatever (if red on the shoulders. Other markings similar to those of the adult female but the size Is always 

 considerably larger. 



Youny female of the year. Strongly tinged below with yellowish which is more noticeable in winter. Otherwise simi- 

 lar to the young. 



Nestlings. Resembles the above, but there is much more yellow below, and there are indications of wing bars. The 

 bill U lig'it-hr>wn. There is a naked space around the eye and on the throat long after all of the remainder of the body 

 is covered with feathers. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Adult males from Massachusetts have a pale-buff margin to the shoulder patches which are of an intense scarlet. This 

 margin is made up of the lower row of lesser wing coverts and they are darker where they are covered. Florida birds have 

 less df this edging and it is of a darker buff. -In Western skins of the so-called "yvbernator" these coverts are only buff 

 at the base, the tips being black. The Southern females do not differ much from more Northern specimens, excepting that 

 they are smaller, as are also the males. Females from Utah have the colors on the anterior portions more obscured, and 

 there is liut little trace of a median line. A male specimen in the collection of the Masters Bangs, taken in October, is 

 quite similar to some taken at Key West only a month later. Distributed in summer throughout the United States. Win- 

 ters in the C'arolinas and southward. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of fifteen male specimens from New England. Length, 9~03; stretch, 14'72; wing. 4'75; tail, 

 3-55; bill, '98; tarsus, I -07. Longest specimen, 9'50; greatest extent of wing, 15'25; longest wing, 5'00; tail, 3-65; bill. 1'05; 

 tarsus, I- l.'i. Shortest specimen, 8'61; smallest extent of wing, 14-20; shortest wing, 4'50; tail, 3'45; bill, '92; tarsus, I'OO. 



Average measurements of fifteen female specimens from New England. Length, 7'72; stretch, 12-20; wing, 3'83; tail, 

 2-87; bill, -82; tarsus, -95. Longest specimen, 8'00: greatest extent of wing, 14-50; longest wing, 4'00; tail, 3'05; bill, '90; 

 tarsus, 1-00. Shortest specimen, 7'45; smallest extent of wing, 12-00; shortest wing,2'40; tail, 2'70; bill, '85; tarsus, -90. 



Average measurements of fifteen male specimens from Florida. Length, 8'57; stretch, 14-12; wing, 4'30; tail, 2'87; 

 bill, -85; tarsus, -97. Longest specimen, 9'25; greatest extent of wing, 14'50; longest wing, 4-66; tail, 3-62; bill, I'OO; tarsus, 

 1-05. Shortest specimen, 7-90; smallest extent of wing, 13-75; shortest wing, 3'95; tail, 3'00; bill, '71; tarsus, -90. 



Average measurements of fourteen female specimens from Florida. Length, 7'50; stretch, 12'72; wing, 3-32; tail, 2-75; 

 bill, 'W>; tarsus, 1-05. Longest specimen, 7'98; greatest extent of wing, 12'25; longest wing, 3'9i); tail, 3-02; bill, "95; 

 tarsus, 1-05. Shortest specimen, 7- 10; smallest extent of wing, 11-15; shortest wing, 3'(X); tail, 2'45; bill, '75; tarsus, '92. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed in trees, bushes, or on tussocks. They are compact structures, composed of quite coarse gross and weeds, 

 lined with fine grass. Dimensions; external diameter, 4'15, internal, 3'12. External depth, 5'85, internal, T85. 



Rjyt,ma\ in fonn, three to five in number, pale-blue in color, spotted, blotched, and lined irregularly with reddish- 

 brown and umber. The above described markings are on the surface, and usually cluster around the larger end, but there 

 are other S|M>IS which are duller and incorporated in the shell. The spots vary greatly in number, and occasionally one will 

 be immaculate. Dimensions from '90s -65 tu l'07x -75. 



HABITS. 



There are few, if any, among our insessorial birds that are found in such immense 

 flocks as the Red-winged Blackbirds. Large quantities associate together in New Eng- 

 land, but as they move southward these communities join forces, and when they arrive in 

 the rice fields of the Carolinas and Georgia, they have accumulated in such vast swarms 

 as to fairly darken the air. Great numbers also occur throughout Florida, and I even found 

 them abundant at Key West. During the entire winter they are gregariously inclined, 

 but as spring approaches they break up into small flocks and the males which have only 

 the cluck, used as a call note when flying, or as one of alarm when startled, begin to give 



