167 



not make any distinction between it and their own. The Cowbird 

 receives its name from its habit of following cattle, evidently attracted 

 by the flies and insects which gather about those animals. 



Economic Status. From a study of their food, Cowbirds would seem 

 to be purely useful birds. They consume large amounts of weed seeds and 

 harmful insects and only small quantities of grain or fruit, the grain 

 largely waste and the fruit wild. Their effect upon other equally useful 

 birds, however, puts a different complexion on their activities. Practically 

 every Cowbird raised to the fledgling stage means the elimination of a nest 

 full of other species. Perhaps the economic effects of the changelings equal 

 those of the individuals they displace, but the substitution cannot be looked 

 upon with equanimity. 



Genus — Xanthocephalus. Yellow-headed Blackbird. 



497. Yellow-headed Blackbird, fr. — l'etotjrneatj a tete jatjne. Xantho- 

 cephalus xanthocephalus. L, 10. A Blackbird with white wing-patches on the primaries, 

 and yellow head, neck and breast. Female similar, but brownish rather than black; 

 brightness of yellow reduced, and white lacking on the wings. 



Distinctions. Above characterization unmistakable. 



Distribution. Western North America to northern parts of prairie provinces. Only 

 of accidental occurrence in eastern Canada. 



A marsh or swamp bird rare in eastern Canada. 



Genus — Agelaius. Red-wings. 



498. Red-winged Blackbird, soldier blackbird, pr. — l'etotjrneatj a ailes 

 rouges. Agelaius phceniceus. L, 9-51. Plate XXVI B. 



Distinctions. All male plumages have at least suggestions of the red shoulders, though 

 sometimes they are reduced to scattered spots of orange. The female is always distinguish- 

 able from any other Blackbird by her sharply streaked coloration. 



Field Marks. The male is plainly characterized by its red shoulders, and the bird can 

 be recognized in all plumages by its characteristic notes, the most common one, only 

 uttered by the male, being well rendered into "O-ke-lee" or "O-ke-ree" with a rising inflec- 

 tion at the end. 



Nesting. In well-made structure of rushes and grass tied 2 or 3 feet above the water 

 in reeds, cat-tails, or low bushes in swampy places. 



Distribution. As a species, the Red-wing is distributed over all North America north 

 to the limit of trees. 



SUBSPECIES. The Red-wings are divided into a number of subspecies. The 

 common one in eastern Canada is the type form, the Eastern Red-wing. In the western 

 end of Ontario we probably have the Northern Red-wing A. p. arctokgus from the central 

 northern regions. It is characterized by somewhat larger size, but correct differentiation 

 can be made only by the expert. 



No marsh in eastern Canada is typical without one or more pairs of 

 Red-wings chasing each other or clinging to the cat-tails, the males 

 spreading their wings and tail and screwing themselves into constrained 

 attitudes as they squeeze out their clear " O-ke-ree " with a roll on the 

 last syllable, in sight and hearing of the females. In the spring the Black- 

 birds usually arrive in large flocks of mixed species which keep together 

 a few days and then separate. The Red-wings repair to the marshes 

 and before the reeds begin to grow they settle down to their domestic 



