352 NE8T8 AND EGGS OF 



ever, those of thick foliage, and by preference coniferous trees. It is generally 

 placed on the boughs, but sometimes in cavities, and quite often fn hollow stubs in 

 low trees near water. In secluded places the nest is not infrequently built in bushes. 

 It is a loose, bulky affair of twigs, hay and grasses which are often cemented with 

 mud. The eggs are four to six in number, and they present great variations in size 

 and color. They are light greenish-white, with large dashes and irregular streaks 

 of black and brown, in some chiefly at the larger end; in others the ground-color is 

 of a rusty-brown; these are marked chiefly about the larger end with cloudy blotches 

 of the same color. The average size is 1.18x.84. 



51 lo. FLORIDA GRACKLE. Quiscalus guiscula aglmus (BairA.) Geog. Dist. — 

 Chiefly southern portion of Florida, west along the Gulf coast to Louisiana. 



This is a slightly smaller race of the Crow Blackbird than the preceding. Bgga 

 in my cabinet collected in the vicinity of Charlotte Harbor, Florida, do not differ in 

 size or coloration from those of quiscula wneus. The nesting season is in April, 

 May and June. 



5116. BRONZED GRACKIiE. Quiscalu's quiscula aneus (Ridgw.) Geog. Dist. — 

 Eastern North America, from the Alleghanies and New- England north to Hudson 

 Bay, west to the Rocky Mountains. 



The Bronzed Crow Blackbird is a very common species everywhere in its range. 

 It begins nesting in favorable seasons as early as the middle of March, and by the 

 latter part of April many of the nests are finished and incubation has begun. Other 

 nests may not be completed until sometime in May. It nests any where in trees or 

 bushes, on boughs or in hollow limbs or stumps at any height. A clump of evergreen 

 trees in a lonely spot is a favorite site; often large colonies will nest in such places; 

 and it is also found breeding especially abundant in sycamore groves along streams 

 and in oak woodland. A number of pairs will often find suitable nesting places in the 

 trees of quiet orchards. The nest is a coarse, bulky structure, composed of grasses, 

 knotty roots mixed with mud;, the lining is fine, dry grass, horse hair or sheep's wool. 

 The eggs are light greenish or smoky-blue, with irregular lines, dots, blotches and 

 scrawls distributed over the surface; there is just as much variation in. the eggs of 

 this species as is found in those of purpiireiis, of the Atlantic coast. The number laid 

 ranges from four to six, although on the 15th of May, 1888, I found two nests con- 

 taining seven each. The average size of ten specimens is 1.20x.82. 



512. GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE. Quiscalus macrourus Swains. Geog. 

 Dist. — Southern Texas, south through Eastern Mexico to Centeal America. 



, Called the Fan-tailed Crow Blackbird or Texas Grackle. It is an abundant bird 

 in Southern Texas. Concerning its nesting Dr. Merrill says: "Early in April, after 

 several weeks of noisy courtship, they begin to build in irregular colonies, and by 

 the middle of the month have eggs. The nests are perhaps most frequently placed 

 near the top of one of the main upright branches of a young mesquite tree. 'They 

 are strongly built of straws,' leaves and grasses, mud being used freely. Where 

 Spanish moss is plentiful, the nests are sometimes composed entirely of it; and I 

 have found them among tule-reeds, where several species of Herons were breeding. 

 I have also found their nests either supported by the lower part of the nest of the 

 Caracara Eagle, or in the same tree." The eggs are usually three in number, although 

 Mr. Benners found many sets in Texas of four and five. They vary greatly in ap- 

 pearance; the ground color is usually a greenish-white or purplish-brown, more or 



