THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 121 



cousin, the Baltimore oriole, is a famous weaver. The 

 bobolink is a rollicking, jolly fellow; the grackle is solemn, 

 even morose. What a queer family! 



The Purple Crackle and Bronzed Grackle, or Crow 

 Blackbirds 



Length — 12 to 13 inches. About one fourth as large again 

 as the robin. 



Male Purple Grackle — Iridescent black in which metallic 

 blue, green, violet, and copper tints predominate. 

 Iridescent bars on plumage. Eye bright yellow and 

 conspicuous. Tail longer than wings. 



Male Bronzed Grackle — Similar, but with brassy upper 

 parts. 



Females — Less brilliant than males. 



Range — Purple Grackle: eastern United States from the 

 Gulf to Massachusetts. Bronzed Grackle: North Amer- 

 ica east of the Rockies, breeding from the Gulf to Hud- 

 son Bay and Labrador. Winters in southern parts of 

 United States. 



Probably every American knows either one or other of 

 our two common crow blackbirds. 



When the trees are still leafless in earliest spring and the 

 ground is brown and cold, flocks of blackbirds dot the bare 

 trees or take shelter from March winds among their 

 favorite evergreens, or walk solemnly about on the earth 

 like small crows, feeding on fat, white grubs and beetles in 

 a business-like way. They are singularly joyless birds. 

 A croaking, wheezy whistle, like the sound of a cart wheel 

 that needs axle-grease, expresses whatever pleasure they 



