366 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 
c. Tail nearly or quite as long as wing, the feathers not pointed at tips; 
wing moderate, the tertials not lengthened; bill shorter than head, 
the culmen narrow, not flattened; feathers on top of head without 
stiffened shafts; outstretched feet falling far short of tip of tail; 
color black and yellow, orange, or chestnut in adult males (some- 
times in females also), usually with more or less of white on wings. 
Icterus. (Page 372.) 
a. Outlines of bill distinctly curved, the tip distinctly decurved, the commissure 
distinctly inflected and sinuated. (Subfamily Quiscaline.) 
b'. Tail much shorter than wing, nearly even, not folded laterally ; bill shorter 
than head, slender..........cccceccecseceeeeeees Scolecophagus. (Page 378.) 
6%. Tail longer than wing, graduated, and folded laterally; bill as long as or 
longer than head, stout ...........ssssesseeeeee icone Quiscalus. (Page 379.) 
Genus DOLICHONYX Swainson. (Page 365, pl. CL, fig. 1.) 
Species, 
Common CHARAcTERS.— Adult male in spring: General color black, the occiput 
and hind-neck, scapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts whitish or buffy. Adult 
Jemale: General color ochraceous, tinged with grayish brown, paler (more buffy 
yellowish) beneath ; upper parts and flanks streaked with dusky ; crown divided 
by a median buffy stripe. Adult male in fall and winter: Similar to adult female, 
but colors rather darker, or deeper. Young (not seen). Vest in tussocks of grass 
or among weeds in meadows. ggs 4-7, dull white or brownish white, heavily 
spotted or blotched with vandyke-brown, usually with a few fine lines or irregular 
markings of blackish. . 
a’, Adult male with hind-neck usually deep buff, inclining to ochraceous; streaks 
on back also deep buff or ochraceous; Jower back rather deep ash-gray. 
Adult female with ground-color of plumage deep olive-buffy. Length 6.30- 
7.60, wing 3.70-4.00 (3.88), tail 2.60-2.90 (2.83). Eggs .83 x .62. Hab. East- 
ern North America, west to edge of Great Plains, breeding in northern 
United States and more southern British Provinces; in winter, south to 
West Indies and South America..... 494. D. oryzivorus (Linn.). Bobolink. 
a, Adult male with hind-neck and streaks on back paler buff, often nearly pure 
white; lower back- very pale ashy, or grayish white. Adult female with 
ground-color of plumage pale grayish buff. Length (male) about 7.00-7.25, 
wing 3.75-4.10 (3.94), tail 2.75-3.00 (2.89). Hab. Great Plains, east to Da- 
kota, north to Fort Garry and Manitoba, west to Salt Lake Valley and 
eastern Nevada (Ruby Valley). 
(55.) 494a. D. oryzivorus albinucha Ripcw. ‘Western Bobolink. 
