BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 285 



The Ckow Blackbird, Quiscahis versicolor, is an active and 

 sociable bird, who warns us by his loud clanking note, late in 

 the spring, that he is once more in our fields and gardens, ap- 

 parently unconscious that there can be any objection. He is 

 one of those creatures, concerning which it is difficult to say 

 whether they are friends or foes ; sometimes they are the one, 

 sometimes the other, and it is only by striking a balance be- 

 tween the service and the injury, that we can determine how 

 to regard them. That the grakle pulls up corn for the sake of 

 the seed, is undeniable ; but it is also true that it devours im- 

 mense numbers of insects, grubs, and caterpillars ; perhaps it 

 may be possible to secure his services and prevent his depre- 

 dations ; and farmers are now trying to accomplish this object 

 by preparing the seed before it is sown, in some solution which 

 shall make it less tempting to the crow blackbird. 



This bird returns from the south early in the spring, and large 

 numbers resort together to some favorite tree, where they asso- 

 ciate with each other on the most friendly terms, and keep up a 

 perpetual chatter. They build also in communities, sometimes 

 in bushes, but most frequently in a large tree. The nest is 

 made of mud and coarse grass, with a lining of fine grass and 

 horse hair. The eggs are five or six, green, blotched with 

 dark olive. As soon as the leaves fall, the young set out with 

 their parents, in vast collections, on their return to the south, 

 laying the country under contribution as they go. No matter 

 how much they are fired upon, they think it better to be shot 

 than to starve, and all the efforts of the farmer cannot drive 

 them from his fields. Audubon says that the southern farmers 

 soak their seed in a solution of Glauber's salts, which is believed 

 to make it less palatable to the birds in the spring. 



The Black Oriole, Quiscahis haritus, is seldom seen in 

 this vicinity, and probably rests here but a little while, on 

 its annual migration. One has been obtained by Mr. Samuel 

 Cabot, jr. in the neighborhood of Boston. 



