THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. 



{Ageiaius phoeniceus.^ 



Why chidest thou the tardy spring? 

 The hardy bunting does not chide; 

 The blackbird make the maples ring 

 With social cheer and jubilee; 

 The Redwing flutes his o-ka-lcc. 



— Ralph Waldo Emerson, "May-day. 



No bird can be more appropriately 

 called "The Bird of Society" than the 

 Red-winged Blackbird. In the spring 

 and fall these Blackbirds not only asso- 

 ciate with each other in large flocks, 

 but also with the grackles, cowbirds 

 and other blackbirds. But the Red- 

 wings are the most lively of the flock 

 and, perhaps we can say, the most 

 musical. In the spring the appearance 

 of these vivacious birds is especially 

 enjoyed, for they are "as welcome and 

 inspiring a promise of the new year as 

 the peeping of frogs or blooming of 

 the first wild flower." Easily satisfied 

 and fully capable of caring for them- 

 selves the Redwings are an "impressive 

 and helpful example of how to get the 

 best out of life." They have a happy 

 disposition and seem always to be con- 

 tented with their lot. During their 

 migrations and during the winter, while 

 feeding in large flocks in the southern 

 portion of their range, they seem to re- 

 lieve the monotony of their toil by an 

 almost constant chatter. Those who 

 reside north of the winter home of the 

 Redwings cannot but feel a sense of 

 pleasure when these "harbingers of 

 spring" return in March or early April. 

 This indication of the beginning of a 

 season of flowers and fruits and "green 

 things growing" over-shadows, for the 

 time, all the faults which are laid at the 

 door of these crimson epauleted birds. 



Few birds are better known and 

 few are more abundant than these 

 Blackbirds of the marsh and open 

 swamp in the spring and summer, and 

 of the grain fields in autumn. Their 

 range is extensive, covering the United 

 States east of the Rocky Mountains, 

 and the southern portion of the British 

 possessions. They winter in the south- 



ern portion of their range and breed 

 from Texas and the Gulf of Mexico 

 north to New Brunswick and Manitoba. 

 The Redwings during the autumn and 

 winter congregate in large flocks and 

 sally forth in quest of their food. They 

 may also be considered gregarious dur- 

 ing the spring and summer for they 

 often breed in quite large colonies. Sev- 

 eral hundred pairs have been known 

 to nest in a single marsh. During the 

 breeding season the females will fre- 

 quently appear to be more numerous 

 than the males. This is not strange, 

 for the males are polygamous, "each 

 having," in the words of Dr. Ridgway, 

 ''under his protection from two to three 

 or four demure looking females, hardly 

 half his size, and dressed in homely 

 garb, who attend quietly and assidu- 

 ously to their domestic duties, while 

 their lord and master mounts guard 

 upon some prominent perch near by, 

 and cheers them with his song." It is a 

 mellow song having a resonance which 

 is quite pleasing and quite variable. To 

 most hearers it sounds like the syllables 

 kong-quer-ee or con-cur-ee. The liqviid 

 quality of his voice is in perfect har- 

 mony with the quiet -and cool environ- 

 ment in which are his mates and their 

 nests. Approach him, and he begins to 

 inquire with questioning notes sound^ 

 ing like chut, chuck. Frighten him and 

 he utters an alarm-note which is shrill 

 and full of warning. Then, too, the 

 Redwings have notes which are far from 

 pleasing. Approach too closely to their 

 nests and there is indeed a hubbub. 

 "Bustling, frowsy females appear, and 

 scold you soundly. The lazy gallants 

 are all fathers now, and they join dire- 

 ful threats to courteous expostulations, 



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