BOBOLINK. 351 



tree, it sits motionless, and sings at short intervals ^e ar,pe, che-che-ehe. It 

 is a restless, busy bird, and resents intrusion upon his premises by scold- 

 ing notes, short contemptuous flights and disdainful flirtings of his fine 

 tail, of which he is evidently proud. When his notes are not heard his 

 presence is indicated by the noise he makes in running over and scratch- 

 ing among the dry leaves. . 



The nest is usually well sunken in a depression of the ground at the 

 root of a bush or young sapling. Several instances, however, have been 

 brought to my notice where it has been placed in trees and bushes eight 

 or ten feet above the ground. It is composed almost entirely of stems of 

 grass, upon a foundation of dead leaves. The eg^g are white, thickly 

 spotted with light ash^-brown, and measure .98 by 80. 



FAMILY ICTERID^ ORIOLES, ETC. 



Primaries nine. Bill oouic, but leiigthetied ; little, if any, shorter than head; the 



angulation of tomia evident ; no uotcb at end. Nostrils high. No rictal bristles. 



t 



Subfamily AGELAIN^. Marsh Blackbirds. 



Bill stout, conical, acutely pointed, not longer than the head ; the outlines nearly 

 straiglit. Legs louger than the head, adapted for walking. Claws not much curved. 

 Tail moderate, shorter than the wings, nearly even. 



Genus DOLICHONYX. Swainson. 



Bill short, little more than half the head Tarsus shorter than middle toe; inner toe 

 longer than enter, not reaching base of middle claw. Wings long, pointed. Tail feath- 

 ers acutely pointed at tip, with the shafts stiffened and rigid as in the Woodpeckers. 



Djlichonyx oryzivoeds (L.) Sw. 



Bobolinli ; Heedbird. ; ZRicebird- 



loterm agripennis, Nuttall, Man , i, 1832, 18.>. — Kirtland, Ohio Geolog. Surv., 1838, 162. 



— Kbad, Fam. Vis., iii, 185:i, 319; Proc. Phila. Acad. Nat. Sci., vi, 1853, 395. 

 DoUchonyx oryzlvorus, Nuttall, Man , i, 2d ed., 1840, 198 — Wheaton, Ohio Agrio. Rep. 



for 1860, 366, 376; Reprint, 1861, 8, 18; Food of Birds, etc., Ohio Agric. Rep. for 



1874, 567; Reprint, 1875, 7 — Langdon, Cat. Birds of Cin., 1877, 9 ; Journ. Cin. Soc. 



Nat Hist , i, 1878, 115 ; Reprint, 6; Revised List, Jonrn. Cin, Soc. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 



176; Reprint, 10. 



Emheriza oryxivora, LlNN^US, Syst, Nat., i, 1766, 311. 



Icterus agripennia, Bonapaktb, Obs. Wils , 1824, No. 87. t 



DoKchonyxoryzivorua, Swainson, Zool. Journ., iii, 1827, 351. 



Male in spring: black; cervix buff; scapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts ashy- 

 white; interscapulars streaked with black, buff, and ashy ; outer quills edged with yel- 

 lowisli ; bill blackish-horn ; feet brown. Male in fall, female and young, entirely dif- 



