I 



258 uii,i\oc> vji\iACUi^A. j^June,^; 



described and figured in a future volume; but afterward ^ 

 he adopted the opinion, arising solely from the vague de- j 

 scriptions of naturalists, that the Quiscala and Barita; 

 constituted but one species. 



It seems necessary to note an error in Wilson's de-,^ 

 scription: he represents the tail of his species as rounded,,^ 

 whereas it is cuneiform^ as is evident from his excellent^ 

 figure. This conformation of tail affords a good speci-l 

 flc character, on a comparative examination of the twoil 

 species in question. » 



The Boat-tailed Grakle, called by the inhabitants of^ 

 the middle states Crow Blackbird, makes its appearancci 

 in Pennsylvania in March. It is of essential service toj 

 farmers in ridding their fields of the multitudes of larvae j 

 of insects which the vernal season brings forth. Besideai| 

 its attachment to insects and worms, it is fond of maize^ 

 or Indian corn, which it plucks up as soon as the blade ] 

 appears at the surface of the earth. In autumn the Gra-j 

 kles assemble in large flocks, sometimes associated with i 

 the Red- winged Starlings, Orioliis phceniceus, Linn, andj 

 attack the maize while in its milky state, occasioninglj 

 great damage to the farmers, some of whom, in the state! 

 of Delaware, where these birds assemble in immense mul-^ 

 titudes, lose the half of their crops by their depredations.:^ 

 To tell one, groaning under such a calamity, that these^ 

 species are beneficial to agriculture in general, would af-i 

 ford him but little consolation; and yet, without the ser-j 

 vices of these birds, it is a question whether Indian corn; 

 would repay cultivation or not. After the maize is gath-^ 

 ered the Grakles move off to the Carolinas, Georgia andi 

 Florida, where they winter. ^ 



The Boat-tail commonly builds its nest in an apple^^ 



