YELLOW-HEADED TROOPIAL. 
289 
primaries, are longest and equal. The tail is four inches long, 
slightly rounded, the two middle feathers being somewhat 
shorter than those immediately adjoining. This character 
Wilson remarked in the red-winged troopial; and, as other 
notable traits are common to both species, we must regard 
them, not only as congeneric, but as very closely allied species 
of the same subgenus. They differ, however, in colour, and 
the yellow-headed troopial is larger, having the bill, feet, and 
claws consequently stronger, and the first primary longer than 
the second and third, or at least as long ; whereas, in the red- 
winged, the third is the longest. 
The female of our troopial is eight inches and a quarter long, 
a size remarkably inferior to that of the male, and exactly cor- 
responding with the dijSference existing between the sexes of 
the red-winged troopial. The bill and feet are proportionally 
smaller than those of the male, the feet being blackish ; the 
irides are dark brown. The general colour is uniform dark 
brown, a shade lighter on the margin of each feather. The 
frontlet is greyish ferruginous, as well as a line over the eye, 
confluent on the auricles, with a broad line of the same colour 
passing beneath the eye, including a blackish space varied 
with greyish. An abbreviated blackish line proceeds from each 
side of the lower mandible ; the chin and throat are whitish ; 
on the breast is a large rounded patch, of a pretty vivid yel- 
low, occupying nearly all its surface, and extending a little on 
the rieck. On the lower part of the breast, and beginning of 
the belly, the feathers are skirted with white. The form of 
the wdngs and tail is the same as in the male ; the wings are 
immaculate. 
The young of this species are very similar to the female ; 
the young male gradually changing to the rich adult covering. 
The yellow-headed troopials assemble in dense flocks, which, 
in all their varied movements and evolutions, present appear- 
ances similar to those of the red-winged, which have been so 
well described by Vv^ilson. They are much on the ground, 
like the cow troopial (cow bunting of Wilson) ; on dissection, 
VOL. III. T 
