Jan., 1909. Birds of Illinois and Wisconsin — Cory. 555 



Adult female: Smaller than the male; general plumage, dark 

 brown; a line over the eye; cheek patch and throat, including upper 

 breast, washed with dull yellow; wing and tail, dark brown; lower 

 breast usually with more or less dull white streaks; no white on the 

 wing. 



Male: Length, about 10; wing, 5.60; tail, 4.50; bill, .78. 



Female: Length, about 8; wing, 4.90; tail, 4; bill, .66. 



The Yellow-headed Blackbird is a summer resident in northern 

 Illinois and Wisconsin, breeding in open swampy places. It seems to 

 be somewhat local in its distribution, being common in some locali- 

 ties and rare or absent in other and intermediate points, where the 

 conditions are apparently the same. This species was once abundant 

 in the vicinity of Chicago about Calumet Lake and is still not un- 

 common in that locality. Numerous colonies were found breeding 

 near Fox Lake in 1907 and 1908. 



Kumlien and Hollister state that it breeds abundantly in Wiscon- 

 sin in some sections of the State, while in others it seems to be 

 totally absent. 



The nest is composed of grass and weeds attached to reeds or in 

 low bushes in swamps or marshes. The eggs are from 3 to 6, grayish 

 or grayish white, speckled with pale cinnamon brown and occasion- 

 ally with a few fine irregular lines of black, and measure about i.oo 

 X .71 inches. 



Genus AGELAIUS Vieill. 



226. Agelaius phceniceus (Linn.). 

 Red-winged Blackbird. 



Distr.. Eastern United States and southern British provinces, 

 except the Gulf coast and Florida; west to the great plains. 



Adult male: General plumage, glossy black; lesser wing coverts, 

 scarlet red, bordered with buffy white, forming a brilliant red " shoul- 

 der " patch; bill and legs, black. 



Adult female: Upper plumage, rusty brown and black; the ex- 

 posed portion of the feathers of the back being black edged with rusty; 

 a buffy stripe over the eye; under parts, dull white or buffy white, 

 streaked with black; wing, dark brown, edged with buff; tail, dark 

 brown. 



Male: Length, about 8.25; wing, 4.50 to 4.80; tail, 3.60; bill, 

 .80 to .92. 



Female: Length, about 8; wing, 3.84 to 4.05; tail, 3.50; bill, 

 .68 to .80. 



