70 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 
Family ICTERIDJE. — Tile Orioles. 
Iris brown or hazel, except in Quiscalince . Eggs spotted. 
Subfamilies. 
Agelainse. Bill shorter than, or about equal to, the head ; thick, conical, both mandibles 
about equal in depth ; the outlines all more or less straight, the bill not decurved at tip. 
Tail rather short, nearly even or slightly rounded. Legs longer than the head, adapted 
for walking; claws moderately curved. (Page 70.) 
Icterinse. Bill rather slender, about as long as the head ; either straight or decurved. 
Lower mandible less thick than the upper ; the commissure not sinuated. Tarsi not 
longer than the head, nor than middle toe ; legs adapted for perching. Claws much 
curved. (Page 72.) 
Quiscalinse. Tail lengthened, considerably or excessively graduated. Bill as long as, 
or longer than, the head ; the culmen curved towards the end, the tip bent down, the 
cutting edges inflexed, the commissure sinuated. ’ Legs longer than the head, fitted for 
walking. Eyes yellow. (Page 74.) 
Subfamily AGELAII^S, 
A. Bill shorter than the head. Feathers of head and nostrils as in B. 
Dolichonys:. Tail-feathers with rigid stiffened acuminate points. 
Middle toe very long, exceeding the head. (Page 70.) 
Molothrus. Tail with the feathers simple ; middle toe shorter than 
the tarsus or head. Construct no nest, but deposit eggs in nest of other 
birds, by which they are hatched, and the young reared. (Page 71.) 
12. Bill as long as the head. Feathers of crown soft. Nostrils covered by 
a scale which is directed more or less downwards. 
Agelaius. First quill shorter than the second and third. Outer lateral 
claws scarcely reaching to the base of middle ; claws moderate. (Page 
71. ) 
Xanthocephalus. First quill longest. Outer lateral claw reaching 
nearly to the tip of the middle. Toes and claws all much elongated. 
(South America.) 
C. Bill as long as, or longer than, the head. Feathers of crown with the 
shafts prolonged into stiffened bristles. Nostrils covered by a scale which 
stands out more or less horizontally. 
Sturnella. Tail-feathers acute. Middle toe equal to the tarsus. (Page 
72. ) 
Trupialis. Tail-feathers rounded. Middle toe shorter than the tarsus. 
/ 
.South America* 
\ A 
Genus DOLXCHONYX, Swainson. (Page 70.) 
D. oryzivorus. Male, in spring black ; the nape brownish cream-color ; a patch on 
the side of the breast, the scapulars and rump white.- In autumn totally different, re- 
sembling the female. Female , yellowish beneath ; two stripes on the top of the head, and 
the upper parts throughout, except the back of the neck and rump. The sides sparsely 
streaked with dark brown, and a similar stripe behind the eye. Nest on ground among 
the grass; eggs whitish, sometimes drab, spotted and blotched with rufous-brown. A 
superciliary and a median band of yellow on the head. Length of male, 7.70 ; wing, 3.83 ; | 
