264 
494. Bobolink, skunk blackbird. Dolichonyx oryzivorus. L. 7*25. Plate 
XLVI A. A little larger than a House Sparrow with a sparrow-like bill (Figure 254). 
Spring male: striking black and white with a cream-coloured nape and hindneck. Female 
and autumn birds of both sexes: buffy-yellow, striped with dark brown on back. 
Distinctions. The spring male has a slight resemblance to the male Lark Bunting, 
but is white on the shoulders and rump instead of on the wings, and there is a large cream- 
coloured area on the hindneck. Females, juveniles, and autumn 
birds of both sexes are entirely different and might be taken for 
another species at this season. They resemble the Sparrows in 
general coloration, especially the Longspurs, and particularly 
the autumn Smith’s Longspur. However, the fail of the 
Bobolink is composed of stiff, pointed feathers and shows no 
white, and the general colour is yellowish and olivaceous rather 
than brownish. 
Fidd Marks. The striking black and white male and his 
ecstatic flight song are perfectly distinctive. The Lark Bunting 
has a remarkable flight song also, but white is restricted to 
the wings. Female and autumn Bobolinks are best recognized by the yellowish 
tone of their general coloration, dark bar from eye, and light superciliary line, absence of 
white in the tail, and by their note, a short, sharp, metallic “Klink.” 
Nesting. Nest of grass, on the ground in the grass. 
Distribution. North and South America. In Canada, along the southern borders, 
in open places across the continent. In the west, the prairies and southern British Colum- 
bia. 
The Bobolink in spring and summer is a bird frequenting hay and 
clover fields. It may be seen any summer’s day perched on the surrounding 
fences or launching into the air on quivering wings, pouring forth its song 
of ecstasy. Later in the season the rollicking male doffs his parti-coloured 
gayness for the duller ochre and brown stripes of the female. His song is 
replaced by metallic klinks, and with hundreds of others of this species 
joined together in flocks he seeks the marshes until autumn. On leaving 
Canada for his winter home in South America he stops for a time in the, 
rice fields of the Carolinas and here he is hailed not as Bobolink, the merry 
songster, beloved for both practical and sentimental reasons, but as the 
obnoxious “Bicebird” that settles upon the crops in thousands and causes 
decided damage. In the south before the Migratory Birds Convention 
Act was in force he was shot in great numbers and sold for food. 
Economic Status. The Bobolink in Canada is an irreproachable bird 
who charms us with his song and whose bad habits have yet to be discov- 
ered. In May and June, 90 per cent of its food consists of injurious insects, 
and 10 per cent of weed seeds with a few useful insects. In July and August 
a very little grain is added. Yet this bird, owing to its devastation of the 
rice fields, is regarded as a pest in the southern States. 
Flocks of from 25,000 to 30,000 have been reported on 60 acres of rice 
and the damage done a year is estimated at about one-quarter of the 
entire crop. This is a striking example of the economic status of a species 
changing with season, locality, and circumstance. 
495. Cowbird (Including Nevada Cowbird). cow blackbird, buffalo-bird. 
Molothrus ater. L, 7-92. Plate XLVIB. The smallest of our Blackbirds. Male: 
solid black with seal-brown head and neck. 
Distinctions. A small Blackbird, with short, sparrow-like bill (Figure 255). Male: 
jet black with metallic reflections and a seal-brown head. Female: uniiorm^ ashy-brown, 
lighter on throat. Juveniles are similar to the female, but more light-bufty with many 
soft, broken, dark stripes below, and all feathers edged with buffy ochre. 
Fidd Marks. A small Blackbird, with dark eyes and short bill; no decided markings 
anywhere. Notes, a harsh rattle and a grating squeak. 
Figure 254 
Bobolink; about natural 
size. 
