286 



NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



pointed ; the first and fifth quills equal ; the third and fourth also equal ; and the second 

 intermediate between the first and third : lesser quills and tertiaries distinctly emarginate at 

 their tips. Tail cuneate, concave ; the shafts of the two middle feathers central. Feet very 

 strong ; claws strong, rather thick, and fully curved ; anterior lateral toes unequal. 









Dimensions 



















Of the male. 















Inch. 



Lin. 





Inch. 



Lin. 





Inch. 



Lin. 



Length, total . 



. 13 







Length of bill above . 



. 1 



2i 



Length of middle toe . 



. 1 







,, of tail . 



. 5 



6 



„ of bill to rictus . 



1 



5 



„ of its nail . 



. 



H 



,, of wing 



5 



8 



„ of tarsus 



. 1 



4* 



,, of hind toe 

 „ of its nail . 



. 

 . 



64 

 5 



Some males measure an inch more than the above, others two inches less. The female 

 is mostly about eleven inches long. 



[92.] 1. Scolecophagus ferrugineus. (Swainson.) Rusty Maggot-eater. 



Sub-family, Scaphadurinae. Genus, Scolecophagus*, Swains. 

 Turdus, No. 22. Forster, Phil. Trans., lxii., p. 400. 

 Rusty Grakle (Gracula ferruginea). Wils., iii., p. 41, pi. 21, f. 3. 

 Quiscalus ferrugineus. Bonap. Syn., p. 55, No. 57. 

 Chuck-chuck-kaioo, or Chuck-chuck-kawthoo. Cree Indians. 



This sombre-coloured bird is the most northern of the American Sturnidai, its 

 summer range reaching to the sixty-eighth parallel, or as high as the woods 

 extend. It arrives on the Saskatchewan in the end of April, and at Great Bear 

 Lake, lat. 65°, by the 3rd of May, generally in pairs, which for a time frequent 

 the sandy beaches of secluded lakes, and feed on coleopterous insects. Later 

 in the season it joins the flocks of the Maize-birds, Boat-tails, and Cuckoo-bunts 

 in committing depredations in the corn-fields. Mr. Hutchins informs us that, 

 in June, when it breeds, its principal food consists of maggots. He says the 

 nest is attached to the lower branch of a tree, and is formed of moss and grass. 

 The eggs, usually five, are of a dark hue, spotted with black. It winters in the 

 southern parts of the United States. 



* Th. <rx.at.7il, vermis. 



