THE BIRD BOOK 
498. Red-winged Blackbird. Agelaius 
phceniceus phceniceus. 
Range. — North America east of the Rockies 
and from the southern British Provinces south- 
ward to the Gulf; winter in southern United 
States. 
These birds are familiar 
to every frequenter of the 
country, in their range; 
too familiar to many, for 
the enormous flocks do 
considerable damage to 
grain fields in the fall. 
They also do a great 
amount of good at other .Bluish white 
seasons in the destruction of injurious insects 
and weed seed. They breed from April in the 
southern parts of their range to May and June 
in the northern, making their nests of grasses, 
woven and twisted together and placing them 
in hushes in swamps or over water, and some- 
times on the ground in clumps of grass. Their 
eggs are from three to five in number, bluish 
white boldy spotted, clouded cr lined with blackish brown and purplish. Size 
1.00 x. 70. The nests and eggs of the numerous sub-species are all precisely the 
same as those of this bird, so we will but enumerate the varieties and their 
range. To identify these varieties other than by their ranges will require 
micrometer calipers and the services of the men who separated them. 
Red-winged Blackbird 
498a. Sonora Red-wing. Agelaius phceniceus sonoriensis. 
Range. — A slightly larger variety found in southern United States. 
498b. Bahama Red-wing. Agelaius phoeniceus bryanti. 
Range. — Bahamas and southern Florida. 
This species has a slightly longer bill. 
498c. Florida Red-wing. Agelaius phceniceus floridanus. 
Range. — Florida and Gulf coast. 
A smaller species with a longer bill. 
498d. Thick-billed Red-wing. Agelaius phceniceus fortis. 
Range. — Breeds in the interior of British America; in winter south through 
the Plains to southwestern United States. 
498e. San Diego Red-wing. Agelaius Phceniceus neutralis. 
Range. — Great Basin between the Rockies and Sierra Nevadas, from British 
Columbia to Mexico, wintering in the southern parts of its range. 
498f. Northwestern Red-wing. Agelaius phceniceus caurinus. 
Range. — Pacific coast from California to British Columbia. 
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