PURPLE GRAKLE. 337 



the lord of the creation, to avail himself of their usefulness, 

 and guard against their bad effects as securely as possible, 

 without indulging in the barbarous and even impious wish for 

 their utter extermination ? 



The purple grakle is twelve inches long, and eighteen in 

 extent ; on a slight view, seems wholly black, but placed near, 

 in a good light, the whole head, neck, and breast appear of a 

 rich glossy steel-blue, dark violet, and silky green ; the violet 

 prevails most on the head and breast, and the green on the 

 hind part of the neck. The back, rump, and whole lower parts, 

 the breast excepted, reflect a strong coppery gloss ; wing- 

 coverts, secondaries, and coverts of the tail, rich light violet, 

 in which the red prevails ; the rest of the wings and rounded 

 tail are black, glossed with steel-blue. All the above colours 

 are extremely shining, varying as differently exposed to the 

 light ; iris of the eye, silvery ; bill more than an inch long, 

 strong, and furnished on the inside of the upper mandible 

 with a sharp process, like the stump of a broken blade of 

 a penknife, intended to assist the bird in macerating its 

 food; tongue, thin, bifid at the end, and lacerated along the 

 sides. 



The female is rather less, has the upper part of the head, 

 neck, and the back of a dark sooty brown ; chin, breast, and 

 belly, dull pale brown, lightest on the former ; wings, tail, 

 lower parts of the back and vent, black, with a few reflections 

 of dark green ; legs, feet, bill, and eyes, as in the male. 



The purple grakle is easily tamed, and sings in confinement. 

 They have also, in several instances, been taught to articulate 

 some few words pretty distinctly. 



A singular attachment frequently takes place between this 

 bird and the fish-hawk. The nest of this latter is of very 

 large dimensions, often from three to four feet in breadth, and 

 from four to five feet high ; composed, externally, of large 

 sticks or fagots, among the interstices of which sometimes 

 three or four pairs of crow blackbirds will construct their 

 nests, while the hawk is sitting or hatching above. Here 



vol. 1. Y 



