Bronzed Grackle 319 
little is recorded about this. It has been noticed by Aiken in El Paso 
co. as early as April 19th, and he has found it breeding in the Fountain 
Valley below Colorado Springs, and there is no reason why it should not 
be found in sheltered spots throughout our winter. 
The following are recorded localities: Boulder co. (Henderson), 
about Denver (Henshaw), Burlington, Pueblo and Fort Lyon (Cooke), 
El Paso co. (Aiken), Baca co. (Warren), near Fort Garland (Brunner). 
Habits.—The Bronzed Grackle or Western Crow Black- 
bird is a gregarious bird, migrating in large flocks and 
often nesting in colonies. It is omnivorous in its diet, 
and many complaints have been made about it where 
it is numerous, owing to its partiality for corn, wheat 
and other grain, as well as for fruit ; but it also destroys 
large numbers of noxious insects and probably does more 
good than harm on the whole. 
In the east the Grackle usually chooses a coniferous 
tree for its nest, but in the west it is said to frequently 
resort to natural cavities or hollow stumps, or even to 
make use of the nest-hole of a Flicker; but I have met 
with no detailed account of its nesting habits in Colorado. 
The eggs, usually five in number, are very variable in 
markings ; the ground-colour is pale, scrolled and blotched 
with shades of brown, sometimes so profusely as to hide 
the ground-colour ; they measure 1:14 x ‘82. 
Family FRINGILLIDZ. 
Bill very variable in shape, but usually more or less 
short, stout, and conical; nostrils always nearer the 
culmen than the cutting-edge of the bill, and close to the 
frontal feathers, so that they are sometimes concealed, 
or partially concealed, either by the frontal feathers or 
by a specially developed tuft of forwardly growing 
bristles. Wing with only nine primaries, the tenth 
(outermost), if present, very small and degenerate, and 
entirely concealed and often displaced by the growth 
