214 NORTH AMERICAN RIRDS. 



C. MEOAQXTISCAIiUS. (Cassin.) Tail loiignr than wings. Soxos very 

 unlilvc. I'Viiialc iiiiicli siiiiillcr, and very (liU'croiil in coloi-, bciiipf olivacooua- 

 brown, lii,'lilest ln-nuatli. Male without varying sliadus of color; lateral tail- 

 featliur about .(!() tin- iniiidle, or less. 



Q. major. Cwlnicn slionjrly decurvcd tonninally ; bill robust. Female 

 willi back, nape, and crown like the wings; abdomen mueli darker than 

 throat. 



Lustre of the jiliimat/K (/reen, passing into viulct anteriorly on head and neck. 



1. Length, I'j.OO ; wing, 7.i"() ; tail, 7.70, its graduation, 2.oO ; c\ilinen, 

 1.60. Female. Wing, o.lO. Hah. Soutii Atlantic and Gulf coast of 

 United States var. major. 



Lustre, violet passin;/ into (/reen posteriorly. 



2. Length, 14.00; wing, 0.75 ; tail, 7.20, its graduation, 2.40; ctdmon, 

 1.57. Female. Wing, 5.30; tail. 5.00. Hah. Western Mexico. (Mazat- 



lan, Colinia, etc.) vwv. paUistris.^ 



3. Length, IS.(M) ; wing, 7.70 ; tail, 0.20, it.s graduation, 3.50 ; cidmcn, 

 L7(i. Female. Wing, 5.80; tail, (i.30. Hah. From Rio Grande of 

 Texas, south through Eastern Mexico ; Mazatlan (accidental?). 



var. macr U7'ua 

 Q. tenuirostris.' Cuhnen scarcely decurved terminally ; bill slender. 

 Female with back, najie, and crown very dilfereut in color from the wings; 

 abdomen as light as throat. 



I. Male. Lustre inn-plish-violet, inclining to steel-lilue on wing and 

 upper tail-coverts. Length, 15.00; wing, 7.00; tail, 8.00, its gradua- 

 tion, 3.00. Female. Crown, nape, and back castaneous-brown ; rest of 

 upper parts brownish-black. A distinct superciliary stripe, with the 

 whole lower parts as far as flanks and cri.ssnm, deep fulvous-ochraecous, 

 lightest, and inclining to ochraceous-white, on throat and lower part 

 of abdomen; flanks and cri.ssnm blackish-brown. Wing, 5.10; tail, 

 5.35, its graduation, 1.80; cuhnen, 1.33; greatest depth of bill, .36. 

 Hub. Mexico (central ?). 



Quiscalus purpureus, Babtr. 



THE CBOW BLACKBIBD. 



Sp. CnAn. Bill above, about as long as the head, more than twice as high ; the com- 

 missure moderately sinuatcd and considerably decurved at tip. Tail a little .shorter than 

 the wing, much graduated, the lateral feathers ,90 to L50 inches shorter. Third quill 



(Cal)iuct Cyclopiedia, p. 20it, lS:i8. — Cass. Pr. A. N. S. 1866, 408). Hah. S. Am., Triniilad. 

 (2) Q. mcxicanus, Cass. (Pr. A. X. S. 1866, 408K I/(di. Mexico. Resides these are the two fol- 

 lowing, whosi! habitats are unknown : Q. iiiflrx'irnstru'i, Swains. (Cab. Cyc. p. 300, 1838), and 

 Q. rrcfiro.i/r;.i, Cass. (Pr. A. N. .S. 1866, 40i)). 



1 Quisaihis pnliislris (SwAiNs.). Cassix, Pr. A. N. S., Phila., 186G, p. 411. (Seaphviurm 

 pal., Swains. Phil. Mag. IS'27, 4:!ri. 



2 Quiscahis tenuirmlris, Swains. Cabinet Cyelopa;dia, 1838, p. 299. — Cassin, Pr. A. N. S. 

 1866, 411. The Q. a.i.sinn'lis, Sci,. Cat. Am. P. 1862, 141, from Bogota, and Q. perurianus. 

 Swains. Cab. Cyc. 1838, 354, of Peru, are nuL in the colleetion ; they are probably referrible to 

 the major type. 



