BIRDS OF THE GRAND I'liA REGION. — TUFTS. 183 



501. Stiirnella magna magna (Linn.). Meadow Lark. — 

 Rare and accidental. One record only — a female 

 taken at Bout Island near the mouth of the Gas- 

 pereau, Jan. 7, 1916 (R. W. T.). This bird was 

 found on the salt marsh in a bleak and most exposed 

 district, and had been seen there regularly for some 

 days. It was feeding on the seeds of tJie marsh 

 sedges which had not been cut the previous fall. 

 Despite the fact that the marsh was exposed only 

 in spots (being covered for the most part Avith 

 slush and ice-cakes), the bird, was in good condition, 

 and was approached with difficulty. 



509. Euphagus carolinus (Miill.). Rusty Blackbird; 



"Blackbird " — Summer resident, common locally, 

 from ]March 28th to middle of October. Observed 

 chiefly in alder thickets, bordering lakes, rivers 

 and swamps of outlying settlements. Nests com- 

 monly along the Forks river, a tributary of the 

 Avon river. 



511b. Quiscalus quiscula ceneus Ridgw. Bronzed Grackle. 

 — Common summer resident, arriving about first 

 week in April. Seen more commonly about settled 

 districts than in the wooded regions. Nests first 

 week in May. Referring to my notes for 1896, 

 I find that on ]\Iay 3rd of thflt year I recorded my 

 first "Purple Grackle;" this bird appeared in our 

 garden, and I followed it for half a hour, studying 

 it with my glasses. The following year on the 11th 

 of April, a pair of these birds was seen in town, 

 and one, a male, was taken and brought to me. 

 It was then that I learned that this bird was not 

 the Purple but the Bronzed Grackle. Since that 

 year they have visited this region with marked 

 regularity and in increasing numbers, until now 

 they are common summer visitors. 



