152 BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE. 



where they are very abundant, and where I have had many opportunities of observing their 

 habits. 



Like the preceding species, the flight of the Boat-tailed Grackles is somewhat heavy 

 and decidedly marked, for the long, keel-shaped tail gives the bird a peculiar appearance 

 and looks as if it were too heavy for the remainder of the body which is often kept at an 

 inclination, with the head highest. I do not think these birds are as agile in aerial evolu- 

 tions as the other Blackbirds for they seldom wheel in circles, but fly more in a direct line; 

 in fact this species is characterized by their dignified movements, even when walking. 

 They spend a great portion of their time on the ground, frequenting the neighborhood of 

 streams and other bodies of water into which they wade in search of small mollusks, crabs, 

 etc. Throughout the winter these Blackbirds assemble in large flocks, some of which are 

 wholly made up of males while others are composed mainly of females, but by the first of 

 March these large assemblies break up into smaller companies and both sexes come to- 

 gether. Then the males begin to sing, but perhaps I am violating the rules of harmony 

 when I call this peculiar lay a song. Yet, although the chirp is much harsher than that 

 of the Crow Blackbird, the remainder of the performance is much different. It consists 

 of a series of sharp, short, though clear, energetic notes uttered somewhat rapidly, and 

 taken in connection with the primeval surroundings, produces an effect which is exceed- 

 ingly pleasing. 



As I have remarked before, the east side of the Indian River is mainly composed of 

 dry prairies through which are interspersed little ponds. The space occupied by the water 

 is small, but it is surrounded by a belt of marshy ground, of a greater or less extent, which 

 has thickly grown to high, coarse saw grass. This rank herbage which is often six feet 

 high, is the chosen resort of the Boat-tailed Grackles, and the nests are fastened to the 

 large stems. Sometimes there will be willows near the water, and on a few occasions I 

 have found the nests in them. The average height of the structures above the surface 

 was four feet, but I took one from a branch of a tree that was placed ten feet from the 

 ground. 



This was quite exceptional, in fact it is rare to find them elsewhere than in the grass 

 The birds began to breed in the Everglades by the second week in March, and I found 

 them nesting in the rushes in the islands at Salt Lake by the seventeenth of the month, 

 but it was as late a the third of April when I visited the breeding ground mentioned a- 

 bove. The eggs had evidently been deposited for some time, as they nearly all contained 

 embryos, but some were fresh. The usual number was two, indeed out of at least thirty 

 nests only one contained three. Farther south, in the Everglades and in the Indian Hunt- 

 ing Grounds, I almost always found three. 



This is all that I ever obtained but Mr. C. H. Nauman has taken four, three are, 

 however, the usual number deposited. The birds were quite solicitous for thesafetyof their 

 eggs, chirping loudly and alighting quite near us. The males were present and evinced 

 considerable interest, for they elevated the feathers on their heads, fluttered their wings 

 and joined in the general outcry. But they have a singular way of exhibiting their excite- 

 ment which I never observed in any other species, for they draw the nictitating membrane 



