BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. ^01 



erous tree. The three to six eggs are hglit blue, marked 

 and scrawled with irregular shades of brownish-black. 



THE GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE* 



The Great-tailed Grackle belongs to a family of birds 

 that is " eminently characteristic of the New World, all the 

 species being peculiar to America." It is the family of 

 the blackbird and oriole, of the bobolink and the meadow- 

 lark. It is called the Icteridee, from a Greek word, ikteros, 

 meaning a yellow bird. The majority of the one hundred 

 and fifty or more species that are grouped in this family 

 make their home in the tropics, where their brilliant colors 

 are emphasized by the ever-green foliage and the bright 

 sunshine. 



The family is interesting because the species, though 

 closely related, vary so widely in their habits. They "are 

 found living in ground of eveiy nature, from dry plains 

 and wet marshes to the densest forest growth." Here are 

 classed some of the birds which are among the most beauti- 

 ful of our songsters. Here, too, are classed some species 

 that never utter a musical sound, and whose voices are 

 harsh and rough. The sexes are usually dissimilar, the 

 female being the smaller and generally much duller in color. 



The great-tailed grackle is a native of eastern Texas 

 and the country southward into Central America. The 

 grackles are sometimes called crow blackbirds. There are 

 five species, all found in the United States. The bronzed 

 and the purple grackles are the most generally distributed 

 and best known. 



