QUISCALUS. 379 



in winter : Much washed or overlaid by rusty on upper and buffy on lower 

 parts. Young : Similar to winter female, but colors duller and more uni- 

 form, and texture of plumage looser. Length 8.20-9.75, wing 4.25-4.75, tail 

 3.65-4.20. Eggs .99 X -73. Sab. Eastern and northern North America, west 

 to Bering's Sea and Great Plains ; breeding from northern United States 



northward 509. S. carolinus (Mull.). Rusty Blackbird. 



Bill stout, its depth through base nearly equal to half the lateral length of 

 lower mandible. Adult male in summer : Uniform glossy greenish black, the 

 head and neck glossy violet- black. Adult male in winter: Similar to sum- 

 mer plumage, but head, neck, back, and breast more or less — generally very 

 slightly — obscured by grayish brown tips to feathers. Adult female : Uni- 

 form brownish slate, more brownish anteriorly, posteriorly more slaty, and 

 with a soft, silky gloss. Length 8.75-10.25, wing 4.65-5.25, tail 3.85-4.50. 

 Eggs 1.03 X -74. Hab.. Western North America, east to Great Plains (occa- 

 sionally to Illinois, etc.), north to the Saskatchewan, south to table-lands of 

 Mexico 510. S. cyanocephalus (Wagl.). Brewer's Blackbird. 



Genus QUISCALUS Vieillot. (Page 366, pi. CIIL, figs. 1, 2.) 



Species. 



Common Characters. — Adult males : Uniform glossy blackish, often with varied 

 metallic hues. Adult females : Decidedly smaller than males, the colors duller 

 (sometimes markedly different). 



a 1 . Tail not decidedly longer than wing (usually decidedly shorter) ; adult males 

 with varied rich metallic tints (the head and neck rich, silky steel-blue, 

 violet, or brassy green) ; adult females similar, but duller. Nest a coarse and 

 bulky but compact structure composed of coarse dried grasses, built in trees 

 (often in cavities). Eggs 3-6, pale green or greenish blue, pale olive, or dull 

 olive-whitish, coarsely spotted and irregularly lined with brown and black 

 (sometimes dull rusty brown, marked with darker). (Subgenus Quiscalus.) 

 b 1 . Plumage of body above and below, with mixed metallic tints (usually sev- 

 eral on each feather, especially on back and scapulars), the color of head 

 and neck usually not abruptly defined against the color of the body ; 

 wing-coverts usually with mixed metallic tints ; wings and tail usually 

 bluish violet or bluish. 

 c 1 . Larger, with smaller bill; length about 11.00-13.50, wing (male) 5.45- 

 6.05 (5.71), tail 5.05-5.70 (5.46), graduation of tail 1.00-1.60 (1.26), 

 exposed culmen 1.13-1.23 (1.17), tarsus 1.35-1.45(1.40). Female: 

 Length about 11.00-11.50, wing about 5.00, tail about 4.80. Eggs 

 1.18 X -84. Hab. Atlantic coast of United States (except southern 

 Florida), north to Massachusetts, west to eastern Tennessee. 



511. Q. quiscula (Linn.). Purple Grackle. 

 c 2 . Smaller, with larger bill ; length about 10.40-12.00, wing (male) 5.20- 



