216 BIRDS OF ALABAMA 



large flocks from the northern States. Dr. Avery, in his 

 notes, says of this bird : "Not so common as it was when the 

 country was first settled ; 45 years ago [1842] , it was one of 

 the greatest pests the planter had to encounter; it pulled up 

 acres of corn as soon as the leaves appeared above the ground. 

 Children were employed to scare the crow blackbirds from 

 the cornfields and numbers were shot, without apparent 

 diminution of the individuals composing their ranks." 



Crackles feed in a variety of situations, pastures, cultivated 

 fields, barnyards, open woodland, and the shores of ponds. 

 They roost at night, except during the breeding season, in 

 great companies, usually in a reedy marsh, but sometimes in 

 willows or evergreen trees. The nests are usually placed in 

 the upper branches of evergreens, more rarely in tall bushes 

 or in hollow stumps (as observed at Autaugaville) . 



The alarm note of this bird is a harsh chuck, similar to that 

 of the red-wing, but louder and lower-pitched; the song is 

 likewise rather harsh and unmusical, resembling somewhat 

 the creaking of a rusty hinge. 



Food habits. — These birds sometimes do considerable dam- 

 age to com, both at planting time and when "in the milk." 

 Corn is eaten during every month in the year and furnishes 

 over one-third of their food, but the greatest quantity is taken 

 in fall and winter, and is doubtless mainly waste grain. The 

 animal food of the grackle amounts to nearly one-third of the 

 total, and as most of this consists of injurious insects, it must 

 stand to the credit of the bird. Among the insects eaten are 

 beetles, grubs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and boll weevils. 

 The birds are particularly fond of following the plowman and 

 picking up from the furrows larvae of ground beetles and 

 other insects. Most of the boll weevils taken are secured from 

 rubbish in the fields during winter or early spring. Crawfish 

 also are frequently captured, and Dr. Avery records observing 

 grackles carrying these crustaceans a distance of a mile to 

 feed to their young. Prof. Beal, in summarizing the economic 

 relations of this bird, says : 



The examination of the food of the blackbirds has shown 

 that they ^ * * are most emphatically useful birds — so useful 



