BREWER'S BLACKBIRD. 299 



species. They are usually seen in moist and marshy places, where thej' are walking 

 around in search of all kinds of aquatic insects, snails, and seeds. 



Nests of these birds have been found at Calais, Me., and thence northward through 

 Nova Scotia and Labrador to Alaska. A nest found June 12 by Mr. MacFarlane, 

 near Fort Anderson, was placed on a branch of a spruce, next to the trunk, eight feet 

 from the ground. Another one was placed in the midst of a branch of a pine, five feet 

 from the ground. Whenever the nest is approached, both parents evince great un- 

 easiness, they do all in their power by flying from tree to tree in its vicinity, to 

 withdraw the attention of the invader from the spot. The breeding range of this 

 Blackbird has been traced to the 69° north latitude. Mr. Dall found them about 

 May 20 at Nulato, and their nests were discovered at Fort Yukon and at Sitka. In 

 Alaska the nest is usually built in bushes standing in water. It is made of plant- 

 stems, grasses, and moss, lined with finer grasses. 



The eggs, four to five in number, are light green, and are only sparingly covered 

 with blotches and shades of purplish-brown. 



NAMES: Rusty Blaci^bird, Rusty Grackle, Ferrugineons Blackbird. 



SCIENTIFIC NAMES: Oriolus ferrngineus Gmel. SCOLECOPHAGUS CARQLINUS Ridgw. (1885). Scole- 

 copbagtts Arragineus Sw. (1831). Gracala. ferruginca Wilson (1811). 



DESCRIPTION : General color, black, with purple reflections ; the wings, under tail-coverts, and hinder part 

 of belly, glossed with green. In autumn the feathers are largely edged with ferruginous or brownish, 

 so as to change the appearance entirely. "Spring, female dull, opaque-plumbeous or ashy-black; the 

 wings and tail sometimes with a green lustre. . . . 



Length of male, 9.50 inches; wing, 4.75; tail, 4.00 inches. — Female, smaller. 



BREWER'S BLACKBIRD. 



Scolecophagus cyanocephalus Cabanis. 



Plate XVII. Fig. 3. 



^ROM early November to the beginning of April all the thickets in the sheltered 

 IP^ ravines and on the woodland border near Houston, Texas, swarm with northern 

 birds. Consisting partly of evergreens, these thickets oifer them not only an excellent 

 shelter against the cold northers, they also furnish an abundant supply of food. In the 

 gardens of the city, among the thickets of roses, in the magnolias, loquats, cedars, 

 and other evergreen trees and shrubs a large number of northern birds take up their 

 abode during the winter. Goldfinches, Juncos, Phoebes, Cedarbirds, White-crowned and 

 White-throated Sparrows, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Nuthatches and 

 Woodpeckers are the most common winter sojourners in the larger gardens. The most 

 conspicuous and abundant winter-bird, however, is the exceedingly gregarious Brewer's 

 Blackbird. 



During several winters I had the good fortune to observe these Blackbirds in 

 large swarms in south-eastern Texas. They usually appeared in the streets of the 



