212 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



few till VniK'ouvev Island in tlio yards wliere cattle were fed, and a small 

 nunil)LT IVetiucnteil tlie niulii-ciiiui) on tlie Sunias ])rairie. East of the 

 Cascades he met none cxcejit at ('olville, wliere a small tlock had wintered 

 in a settler's cowyard. Tlicv appeared to have a great liking lor the pres- 

 ence uf those animals, arising iVoni their finding more food and insects 

 there tlian elsewhere, walking between their legs, and even perching iii)on 

 their hacks. 



Captain IJlakiston found this sjiecies breeding on the forks of the Sas- 

 katchewan, June o, 1858, where he obtained its eggs. 



Genus QUISCALUS, Vieillot. 



Quiscalns, Vikii.lot, An.ilyse, 181(3 (GuAY). (Tyjie, Gracula qiiUcala, L.) 



Sp. Cii.vu. Bill as long as the hoail, the culmen slightly curved, the gonys almost 

 straight; the edges of the bill iiilleettMl and rounded; the commissure quite strongly 



Quisrnlus /mrpHreus. 



sinuated. Outlines of tarsal soul' :e well delined on the .siiles ; tail long, boat-shaped, or 

 oapalile of folding so that the two sides ean almost be lirought together upward, the 

 featluM-s conspicuously and decidedly graduated, their inner webs longer than the outer. 

 Color black. 



The excessive giwlnation of the long tail, with the perfectly black color, 

 at once distinguishes this genus from any other in the United Stiites. Two 

 types may be distinguished : one Qin'Mcuhi.t, in which the females are much 

 like the males, although a little smaller and perhaps with rather less lustre ; 

 the other, Mnjuqitucnlna, much larger, with tlie tail more graduated, the 

 females considerably smaller, and of a brown or rusty color. The Qiriscali 

 are all from Xorth America or tht; West Indies (including Trinidiid) ; none 

 having been positively determined as South American. The Jf<(/(tqi(isciili 

 are AFe.xican and Gulf species entirely, while a tiiird group, the IIolo(2uiscali, 

 is West Indian. 



