The Rusty Blackbird 



or eight years, will account for the loss of from sixty to one hundred 

 broods of song-birds in a lifetime. It is with just alarm, therefore, that 

 we note the steady increase of this parasitic species in California. The 

 older authorities did not even mention the presence of M. a. obscurus in 

 California, although it was perfectly well known from Arizona. It is 

 not listed in Grinnell's first Check-List, because occurrences in the south- 

 eastern part of the State were attributed to M. a. ater. Dr. Grinnell 1 , 

 however, found the Dwarf Cowbird abundant in the Colorado River 

 Valley in the spring of 191 o. Records are now coming in from San Diego, 

 from Los Angeles County, and from the San Joaquin Valley. I have seen 

 it three times at Santa Barbara, and confidently expect to find it both in 

 San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties at no distant date. 



No. 13 



Rusty Blackbird 



A. O. U. No. 509. Euphagus carolinus (Muller). 



Synonym. — Rusty Grackle. 



Description. — Adult male in breeding plumage: Uniform glossy black with steel- 

 blue reflections. Bill and feet black; iris pale straw. At other seasons the plumage 

 bears rich brown, or "rusty" (mars brown to chestnut) tips above, especially anteriorly, 

 and rufescent or buffy (cinnamon buff to pinkish buff) tips below in varying propor- 

 tions; also a vague light line over eye. Adult female in breeding season: Above blackish 

 slate, shading to deep neutral gray on underparts; faintly glossed above, and with 

 some edging of rusty; vaguely lighter-edged below. At other seasons the general cast 

 of plumage is lighter, and the overlap of rusty or buffy is similar to that of the male. 

 Adult male length 228.6-243.8 (9.00-9.60); wing 115 (4.53); tail 90 (3.54); bill 18.8 

 (.74); tarsus 30 (1.18). Female smaller. 



Recognition Marks. — Towhee to robin size. Male entirely black, not so 

 glossy as in E. c. cyanocephalus ; female more slaty. Rusty markings usually distinctive 

 during migrations; high-pitched whistling notes. 



Nesting. — Does not breed in California. Nest: of sticks and coarse grasses, 

 held together with mud, lined with rootlets or fine green grasses, placed in bushes or 

 high in coniferous trees. Eggs: 4 to 7; grayish or pale green, speckled and mottled 

 with chocolate and other reddish or grayish browns, very rarely marked with hairlines 

 or scrolls. Av. size, 24.9 x 18.3 (.98 x .72). Season: May, June; one or two broods. 



General Range. — Eastern and northern North America. Breeds from the 

 Kowak River in Alaska south to southern Alaska, and so in a broad belt in an east- 

 southeasterly direction which eventually involves northern New York and the northern 

 New England States. Winters chiefly east of the Mississippi River, from about the 



'Pacific Coast Avifauna, No. 3, June 25, 1902. 



8i 



