SENNETT ON BIRDS OF THE EIO GEANDE OF TEXAS. 23 



Oriole. The eggs resemble those of M. pecoris, but are not so heavily 

 speckled, and are smaller. Color dull white, with the faintest tinge of 

 blue, and finely speckled with light brown, much more thickly at the 

 larger end. The size of the largest egg is 0.80 by 0.60, the only one 

 retained. 



MoLOTHKUS ^NEUS, {Wagl.) Cab.— Bronzed or Bed-eyed Cowbird. 



llcterus aeneuSf Licht. "Mus. Berol." 



PsarocoUus aeneus, Wagler, Isis, 1829, 758. — Bp. C. A. i. 1850, 426. 



Agelaius ceneus. Gray, "Gen. of B. ii. 184-, 346". 



Moloihrus aeneus. Cab. Mus. Hein. i. 1851, 192.— Scl. "P. Z. S. 1856, 300; 1859, 365, 



381".— S. & S. "Ibis, 1860, 34 ".—Scl. Cat. 1862, 135 (Mexico).— Giebel, Nomencl. 



Av. 1875, 609.— Lawr. Bull. Nat. Mus. n. 4, 1876, 24 (Tehuantepec).- Merrill, 



Bull. Nuttall Club, 1. 1876, 88 (introduced to U. S. fauna ; Fort Brown, Texas ; 



abundant). — Merrill, iUd. ii. 1877, 85 (habits). 

 Molothrus (Callothus) ceneus, Cass. Pr. Phila. Acad. 1866,18 (critical). — Gray, Handlist, 



ii. 1870, 37, n. 6509. 

 Molothrus robustus, Cab. Mus. Hein. 1851, 193; " J. f. O. 1861, 81 ". 



Hab. — Mexico and Central America. Guatemala. Veragua. Costa Rica. Yucatan. 

 North to the Eio Grande of Texas. 



^ ad. corpore toto cum capite ceneo-atris, unicoJoribus, alis cauddque nigris, viridi-violaceo- 

 purpuratis. Long. tot. 8^ ; alw 4f ; caudce 3^. $ ad. minor, oiscurior, ex toto niger, nee 

 brunneus, sed vix nitens. Long, alas 4^ ; caudce 2^. 



$ , adult: Entire body and head uniform black, splendidly lustrous with bronzy 

 reflections, the tint very much like that of the back of Quiscalus purpureus var. ceneus. 

 This rich brassy-black is perfectly uniform over the whole bird, there being no distinc- 

 tion of color between the head and body, so conspicuous in M, ater. Wings and tail 

 black, with violet, purple, and especially green metallic lustre on the upper surfaces. 

 Under wing- and tail-coverts chiefly violaceous-black ; the purplish and violaceous tints 

 are also most noticeable on the upper coverts of both wings and tail, the reflections of 

 the quill-feathers themselves being chiefly green. Bill ebony-black. Feet black. 

 " Iris red." Length 8-8^ ; extent about 11 ; wing 4^-4f ; tail 2^-31 ; bill -j^o along 

 culmen, very stout and especially deep at the base, much compressed, the lateral out- 

 line concave, the under outline perfectly straight, the upper gently convex through- 

 out, the tip very acute. 



2 notably smaller than the male ; the wing scarcely over 4 inches, the tail under 3 ; 

 culmen scarcely f . Color not brown, as in M. ater 2 , but uniformly quite black, with 

 considerable gloss, though nothing like the brassy splendor of the male. Wings and 

 tail with greenish reflections. 



Young ^ : I have seen no very young birds. Early spring birds, in imperfect dress, 

 are exactly like the adult 2 in color, but mucb larger. 



This beautiful species oi Molothrus cannot be confounded with the Common Cowbird. 

 It much more nearly resembles Scolecophagus cyanocephalus, being of nearly or about 

 the same size, and in fact might not be distinguished at first sight when flying about, 

 unless in perfect dress, when the brassy lustre is conspicuous. The iris is red, that of 

 Brewer's Blackbird being yellow, and the bill is much stouter. There is no distinction 

 whatever in color between the head and body, and the 'bronzy tint is much that of 

 some varieties of the Purple Grackle, contrasting strongly with the violaceous-green 

 ■wings and tail. The bronzing is only on the ends of the feathers, the covered parts of 

 which are violaceous-black, with plain dusky roots. In the breeding season, the males 

 are said to present a peculiar pufi'y appearance of the fore parts, and some fullness of 

 the plumage of these parts is recognizable in the prepared skins. The description is 

 taken from specimens from Fort Brown, Texas. — E. C.Q 



