214 BIRDS OF ALABAMA 



in their stomachs, but scarcely any damage to cultivated fruit 

 is ever reported. As a destroyer of boll weevils it rivals the 

 orchard oriole, nearly half of the Baltimore orioles taken in 

 the Texas cottonfields having fed on this insect. 



RUSTY BLACKBIRD: Ewphagtis carolinus (Muller). 



State records. — The rusty blackbird is an irregular winter 

 visitor, but occurs at times in considerable numbers. McCor- 

 mack records it as rare at Leighton, having been seen only 

 twice— November 28, 1887 (3) , and November 24, 1891 (1) . 

 Dr. Avery likewise found it rare at Greensboro, having seen 

 one there, November 16, 1891, and collected one, 12 miles 

 southwest of the town, on February 28, 1891. Brown records 

 the species "not very common" at Coosada, where it was seen 

 as late as the middle of April.* In Autauga County, Golsan 

 reports that flocks of 20 to 40, or sometimes as many as 150 

 are frequently seen between November 8 and March 9. I ob- 

 served a small flock at Speigner, December 13, 1916. 



General habits. — The rusty blackbird is about the size of the 

 red-wing and often associates in flocks with that or other 

 species of blackbirds. It frequents wet pastures, the borders 

 of swampy woodland, and sometimes cultivated fields or barn- 

 yards. It feeds chiefly on the ground in moist situations. 

 Its alarm note is a low chiusk and the song, as described by 

 Langille, resembles that of the red-wing, "but far less musical, 

 being more of a sharp, metallic clatter, interspersed with loud 

 squealing, and almost destitute of the liquid, warbling notes 

 so peculiar to that species."! 



Food habits. — More than half the food of this blackbird 

 consists of animal matter, chiefly insects, among which 

 beetles, grasshoppers, and caterpillars are most frequently 

 taken. Corn and other grain, and weed seed, make up the 

 bulk of the vegetable food. As the bird occurs in the South 

 only in winter, it does no damage to crops, and since it is 

 known to eat the boll weevil it is to be considered a beneficial 

 species and worthy of protection. 



•Brown, K. C. Bull. Nuttall Ornith. Chifc, vol. 4, p. 10, 1879. 

 ILanKille, J. H., Our birds in their haunts, p. 221, 1884. 



