306 Birds of Colorado 
speckled and blotched with various shades of brown ; 
they measure 1:02 x °71. 
Genus AGELAIUS. 
Moderate-sized birds—wing usually under 5-5—with a stout, wedge- 
shaped and pointed bill with a straight culmen ; nostril with a small 
operculum ; wings long and pointed, the ninth primary usually dis- 
tinctly shorter than the eighth, seventh or sixth; tail at least } the 
length of the wing, more or less rounded ; tarsus about as long as the 
middle toe and claw; sexes very distinct—males black with bright- 
coloured shoulders, females streaked with white and dark brown. 
This genus, containing the Red-winged Blackbirds, ranges over the 
whole of Amer ca, North and South. About twelve species, split up 
into a considerable number of subspecies, are usually recognized. Two 
forms of the common eastern American species are found in Colorado. 
Agelaius tricolor, the Tricoloured Blackbird of California, is stated 
by Morrison (86, p. 107; 88, p. 74, and 89, p. 148) to be found in 
La Plata co., in the extreme south-west corner of the State. No 
examples were procured, but a flock was seen near Fort Lewis on 
February 3rd. Further confirmation is necessary before this species 
can be placed on the Colorado list, but it has been included in the key. 
A. Plumage without greenish gloss; lesser wing-coverts scarlet 
to orange; middle-coverts buffy to tawny. 
a. Smaller; wing of the male about 4-8; bill more slender. 
A. pheeniceus, p. 306. 
b. Larger; wing of the male about 5-0; bill stouter, though hardly 
longer. A. p. fortis, p. 308. 
B. Plumage with a bluish-green gloss; lesser wing-coverts dull crim- 
son; middle-coverts whitish to pale buff. A. tricolor. 
Red-winged Blackbird. Agelaius pheniceus. 
A.O.U Checklist no 498—Colorado Records—Allen 72, p. 150; 
Aiken 72, p. 202; Henshaw 75, p. 313; Minot 80, p. 230; Allen 
& Brewster 83, p. 192; Nash 83, p. 225; Drew 85, p. 16; 
Beckham 85, p. 142; W. G. Smith 86, p. 13; Anthony 85, p. 152; 
Morrison 89, p. 148; Kellogg 90, p. 88; Cooke 97, pp. 94, 211; 
McGregor 97, p. 38; Dille 03, p. 74; Henderson 03, p. 107; 09, 
p. 234; Warren 06, p. 22; Gilman 07, p. 156; Oberholser 07, p. 332 ; 
Markman 07,.p. 157; Warren 08, p. 22; 09, p. 15; Rockwell 08, 
pp. 98, 170. (Some of the above records undoubtedly refer partly 
or wholly to other subspecies. ) 
Description.—Adult Male—Uniform deep black with u faint metallic 
gloss ; angle of the wing and lesser-coverts scarlet, middle-coverts buffy, 
