136 
NEW-YORK FAUNA-BIRDS. 
FAMILY QUISCALIDjE. 
Bill conic, elongate, stout, straight, entire. Nasal sinus short and wide. Outer and middle 
toes adherent at the base. Tail various, of twelve feathers. 
GENUS QUISCALUS. Vieillot. 
Bill as long as the head, compressed from the base, entire. Upper mandible curved from the 
middle, with a long keel within. Nostrils basal, oval, half closed by a membrane. Tongue 
cartilaginous, lacerated at the sides, and cleft at the tip. Tarsus as long as the middle 
toe and claw. Wings moderately long; the first quill equal to the fifth, and shorter than 
the second and third, which are longest. Plumage glossy. 
THE COMMON CROW BLACKBIRD. 
Quiscalus versicolor. 
PLATE XXIII. FIG. 49. 
(STATE COLLECTION.) 
Gracula quiscala, Linnjeus, p. 165. Purple Grakle , Pennant, Arct. Zool. VoL 2, pp. 263 and 265a 
G. quiscala. Wilson, Am. Orn. Vol 3, p. 44, pi. 21, fig. 4. 
G . barita. Ord, Ac. Sc. Vol. 1, p. 253. 
Quiscalus versicolor. Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. Vol. 28, p. 498; Gal. des Ois. pi. 108. Bonaparte, Am. Orn. Vol. 
1, p. 52, pi. 5, fig. 1 (female). Audubon, folio, pi. 7. Nuttall, Man. Orn. Vol. 1, 
p. 194. Richardson, F. B. A. Vol. 2, p. 285. Audubon, B. of Am. Vol. 4, p, 58, pL 
221. Peabody, Birds of Mass. p. 285, 
Q. id., Purple Grakle . Giraud, Birds of Long island, p. 145. 
Characteristics. Glossy black. Tail much rounded, reaching nearly three inches beyond 
the wings. Bony keel within the bill large. Female, resembling the 
male, but less brilliant. Young, brown. Length, 12-13 inches. 
Description. Bill sinuous on the margin. Tail long and rounded. Plumage of the male 
glossy; the head, neck and front of the breast blackish, with metallic, violet, steel-blue and 
green. Back, rump and belly with coppery hues. Wings and tail black, with green and 
bluish reflections. 
Length, 12'0-13 - 0. Alar spread, 18‘0-19'0. 
The Common Crow Blackbird is well known, and dreaded by our farmers for its attacks 
on the indian corn. They appear with us about the second week in April; but from causes 
not yet understood, they seem to have abandoned certain districts where they formerly 
appeared in great and destructive numbers. In the southern or Atlantic district of this 
