icteeidjE. — CLXVi. 279 



465. XANTHOCEPHALUS Swainson. 



882. X. xanthocephalus (Bonaparte). Yellow -headed 

 Blackbird. ^ black with white wing patch; head and neck 

 deep yellow; 9 smaller, browner, with less yellow. L. 10. W. 5^. 

 T. i\. W. K". Am., E. to Ind., etc., in swamps. (^av66s, yellow ; 

 K€CJ>aK^, head.) 



466. AGELAITJS Vieillot. (ayeXalos, gregarious.) 



883. A. phoeniceus (L.). Red-winged Blackbied. Swamp 

 Blackbird. <J glossy (not iridescent) black, lesser wing covers 

 scarlet, with bufEy and paler edgings ; 9 dusky, streaked ; young 

 ^ streaked, with rusty on bend of wing. L. 9. W. 5. T. 4. 

 U. S., everywhere abundant. (tpoivUfos, phoenician-red.) 



467. STURNBLLA Vieillot. (Lat., dim. of sturna, starling.) 



884. S. magna (L.). Meadowlark. Brownish and much 

 streaked above ; chiefly yellow below, a black crescent on breast ; 

 yellow of throat not encroaching on cheeks ; sides and crissum 

 bufEy. L. 10. W. 5. T. 3f E. N. Am., very abundant. (Lat., 

 large, as compared with the sky-lark.) 



885. S. neglecta (Audubon). Western Meadowlark. Very 

 similar, the colors duller and paler, the yellow of throat encroach- 

 ing on sides of lower jaw ; sides and crissum nearly white. W. N. 

 Am., E. to 111. ; almost exactly like the other, but the song quite 

 different, thrush-like; now regarded as a subspecies. 



468. ICTERUS Brisson. (iVi-epos, yellow.) 

 a. Depth of bill at base not half its length above. {Icterus.) 



886. I. spurius (L.). Orchard Oriole. ^ black; rump, 

 bend of wing and lower parts deep chestnut ; 9 yellowish olive, 

 quite small ; young yellow, with various black or chestnut traces ; 

 young ^ often yellowish, with black throat-patch. L. 7. W. S^. 

 T. 3. E. U. S., common southerly ; a fine singer and an artist in 

 nest-building. 



aa. Depth of bill at base half its length. ( Yphantes Vieillot.) 



887. I. galbula (L.). Baltimore Oriole. Golden Robin. 

 Fire Bird. Black ; bend of wing, rump, most tail feathers, and 

 under parts from the breast orange of varying intensity ; 9 duller, 

 olivaceous and yellow. L. 7|. W. 3|. T. 3. E. N. Am., abun- 

 dant ; noted for its elaborate hanging nest as well as for its song. 

 (Lat., name of some bird.) 



469. SCOLECOPHAG-XJS Swainson. (a-KoKt]^, worm ; 

 (f)dyos, eater.) 



888. S. carolinus (Miiller). Rusty Grackle. Rusty Black- 

 bird. (J glossy black becoming rusty in autumn ; 9 dusky, lus- 

 treless. L. 9^. W. 4f. T. 4. E. U. S. 



