Trippe.] 238 [October 16, 
107. Melospiza palustris. Common; spring and fall; breeds 
in small numbers, most of them going further north, or to other more 
suitable localities. 
107*. Melospiza Lincolnii. Common; spring and fall, in 
Decatur County ; not seen in Mahaska. 
108. Passerella iliaca. Common, spring and fall, in Decatur 
County; but seldom seen in Mahaska. 
109. Euspiza americana. Very common; breeds. Arrives 
early in May, and leaves in August. 
110. Guiraca ludoviciana. Abundant; breeds. 
lil. Cyanospiza cyanea. Abundant; breeds. 
112. Pipilo erythrophthalmus. Abundant; breeds. Arrives 
in the latter part of March, or early in April; sade earlier than i in 
the Eastern States. 
113. Dolichonyx oryzivorus. Abundant; breeds. The bob- 
o’-link arrives early in May, the males coming some days in advance of 
their mates. At this season I have frequently seen flocks composed of 
hundreds, without a single female among them, feeding on the seeds 
of the dead weeds and grasses, on the open prairie, frequently taking 
wing, and wheeling about like so many blackbirds before alighting 
again. While on the wing their singing is so loud as to be audible 
at a great distance, and the chorus of hundreds of voices rising and 
falling on the wind forms a melody quite as agreeable to the ear as 
their bricht and strongly contrasted colors and graceful evolutions 
are to the eye. When the time comes for them to pair, a little later, 
the scene is frequently very amusing. I have seen fifty males sur- 
rounding a’single female, all singing as though their very lives de- 
pended upon it, and when she, bewildered by the multitude of suit- 
ors, would seek relief in flight, all would rise on the wing, and pursue 
her with the most vehement songs and protestations of love. Very 
many go further north, but a considerable number remain to breed, 
nesting in the borders of grainfields and meadows in preference to 
the prairies; though many breed in the latter. In August the young 
reed-birds are quite common. Although abundant in certain locali- 
ties, this bird is rather irregular in its distribution, as I saw but few 
in Mahaska County. 
114. Molothrus pecoris. Common in Decatur County; lessso 
in Mahaska ; breeds. Disappears in July and reappears in Septem- 
ber.. 
