146 SCOLECOPHAGUS FERRVGINEUS. 



GENUS VII. SCOLECOPIIAGUS. THE RUSTY BLACKBIRDS. 



GEN. CB. Bill, slender, pointed, not very broad at tip, a little shorter than the head. Upper and lower mandibles a lit- 

 tle curved. Winys, lonyer than the tail which is sliyhlly rounded. Feet, not larye. Sternum, narrow. Keel, hiyher than 

 one half the width of the sternum. Marginal indentations exceeding in depth the heiyht of the keel. Coracoids e.Tcecdiny in 

 length thetopoft/ie keel. Stomach, not very muscular. Size, rather larye. 



The adult males are black in color, but the females are duller, while the young show rusty markings. There are never 

 any bright colors. 



SCOLECOPHAGUS FEBRTJGINEUS. 



Rusty Grackle. 

 Scolecophatjui ferruyineus SWAINSON., F. Bor. Am., II; 1831, 286. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. CD. Form, rather robust. Size, quite large. Feet, medium. Tongue, long, thin and horny, with a terminal 

 tuft of hair-like fibers. Sternum, as given above. 



COLOR. Adult male in summer. Uniform lustrous black throughout, with greenish reflections. Bill, black, lighter 

 at base of lower mandible. Feet, brown. 



Adult female in sumemr. Uniform dark-plumbeous throughout, lighter on the throat, becoming very dark on the wing* 

 and tail where there are greenish reflections. 



Adult and young in autumn. Similar to the summer adult but having all thefeathers margined with reddish-brown, 

 while the adult females are darker. 



Young of the year. The males are dull black with the entire plumage overwashed with reddish-brown. There are also 

 superciliary lines of the same. The female is dull-plumbeous, but is so overwashed with rusty that the ground color is quite 

 obscured. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



There is considerable variation in size but there is no essential difference in color in birds of the same age and sex. 

 Readily known by the uniform black and plumbeous plumage in the adult stage, and the young may be distinguished by 

 the rusty overwashing. Distributed in summer throughout Eastern North America, north of the White Mountain range. 

 Winters from the Carolinas to Middle Florida. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of ten specimens. Length, 9'50; stretch, I4'50; wing, 4'45; tail,3'50; bill, - 75; tarsus, 1'25. 

 Longest specimen, 9'70; greatest extent of wing, 14'90; longest wing, 4'80; tail, 3'95; bill, '80: tarsus, T30. Shortest speci- 

 men, 8-65; smallest extent of wing, 13'60; shortest wing, 4" 12; tail, 3'35; bill, -70; tarsus, 1-20. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed in bushes, composed of twigs, weeds, ami grass, the latter being mixed with mud. The whole is lined 

 with leaves and fine grass. Dimensions; external diameter, 6'50, internal, 2'00. External depth, 4'00, internal, 2'00. 



Eyys, from three to five in number, oval in form, pale-blue in color, spotted and lined with light-brown. Dimensions 

 from l-05x-75 to l'OOx'70. 



HABITS. 



Just south of Blue Springs, Florida, was a thick grove of Palmettoes which bordered 

 a narrow strip of marsh that lay between it and the St. John's River. These trees, like 

 many others which grow in rich soil, were quite high and the fronds very large, consequent- 

 ly the shade was so dense that the sun was quite excluded. Thus a somber light pervaded 

 the place which was not conducive to the growth of plants so that the dark soil was covered 

 with rapidly decaying fragments of palm fronds. This debris naturally formed a shelter 

 for many insects and minute mollusks which were, however, far from being safe in their 

 gloomy retreat, for large numbers of Rusty Grackles had found that they were abundant 



