210 NORTH AMEIUUAN UlltDS. 



the Cowltird ami riir])le Grakle in the Kast. Like others of their trilie they 

 are very alniii(hiiit where fouiul at all, and eminently jii'e<j;arious, except 

 whilst breedinL,'. Yet 1 never saw such innunieraljlc multitudes together as 

 the lied\vin},'ed lUaekbird, or even its Calilbrnian congener,^!, trirolor, ahows 

 in the fall, lioeks of fifty or a hundred beinjif oflenest seen. I'nlike the 

 Af/c/fci, they show no partiality for s\vam])y places, being lovers of the woods 

 and fields, and a])pcaring perfectly at home in the clearings about man's 

 abode, where their sources of suj)ply are made sure through his bounty or 

 wastefulness. They are well adapted for terrestrial life l>y the si/e and 

 strength of their I'eet, and spend much of their time on the ground, betaking 

 themselves to the trees on alarm. On the ground they habitually run with 

 nimble steps, when seeking food, only occasionally hopi)ing leisurely, like a 

 Sjjarrow, upon both feet at once. Their movements are generally (piick, 

 and their attitudes varied. They run with the head lowered and tail soine- 

 wliat eleviited and partly spread for a bahmce, but in walking slowly the 

 head is held high, and oscillates with every step. The customary attitude 

 when perching is with the body nearly erect, the tail hanging loosely down, 

 and the bill ))ointing u])ward ; i)u' .should their attention be attracted, this 

 negligent posture is changed, the birds sit low and firmly, with elevated and 

 wide-sjiread tail rapidly tlirted, whilst the In'ight eye peers down through 

 the foliage. Wh(Mi a Hock comes down to the ground to search for food, 

 they generally luuhlle closely together and pass ])retty i[uickly along, each 

 one striving to be first, and in their eagerness they continually Hy up and 

 re-alight a few ])aces ahead, so that the flock seems, as it were, to be rolling 

 over and over. When disturbed at such times, they fly in a dense body to 

 a neighlioring tree, but then almost invariably scatter as they settle among 

 the boughs. The alarm over, one, more adventurous, Hies down again, two 

 or tliree follow in his wake, and the rest come trooi)ing after. In their be- 

 havior towards man, they exhibited a curious mixture of heedlessness and 

 timidity; they would randde about almost at our feet .sometimes, yet the 

 least unusual sound or movement sent them scurrying into the trees. They 

 bccan.e tamest about the stables, where they would walk almost under the 

 horses' feet, like C'owbirds in a farm-yard. 



"Their hunger .satisfied, the lUackbirds wouhl fly into the pine-trees and 

 remai'i a l(,!i;r lime motionless, though not at all ([uiet. They were 'at sing- 

 ing-school,' we used to say, and certainly there was room for im])rovement 

 in tlieir chorus; lait if their notes were not particularly harmonious, they 

 were sjirightly, varied, and on the Mdiole riillicr agreeable, suggesting the 

 joviality that Blackbirds always sliow when their stomachs are full, and the 

 ])ros])ect of further supply is good. Their notes are ra[»id and emphatic, and, 

 like the bai'king of coyotes, give an imi)ression of many more performers 

 than are really engaged. They have a smart chirp, like the clashing of peb- 

 bles, fre(iuently repeatcMl at intervals, varied with a long-drawn mellow 

 whistle. Their ordinary note, continually uttered when they eve searching 



