BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 
367 
olinian fauna from the n. shore of L. I. Sound, rarely Mass., and the middle 
Hudson Valley w. to the Alleghanies and s. to the uplands of Ga., Ala., and 
e. Tenn. ; winters mainly s. of the Delaware Valley. 
Washington, common T. V. and S. R., Feb. 20; a few winter. Ossining, 
tolerably common S. R., Feb. 15-Nov. 8. Cambridge, rare S. R. 
Nest, bulky and compact, of mud and coarse grasses lined with finer 
grasses, in colonies, generally in coniferous trees about 30 feet up, some- 
times in bushes or holes in trees. Eggs, 3-7, very variable, generally pale 
bluish or bluish green, singularly spotted, blotched, or scrawled with 
cinnamon-brown, umber, or black, but sometimes evenly speckled with 
brownish, and rarely almost solid cinnamon- or rufous-brown, IAS x '82. 
Date , D. C., Apl. 17; Delaware Co., Pa., Apl. 25. 
When winter gives signs of retreating, there comes from the south 
in sable array the tried advance guard of the feathered army which is 
impatiently awaiting the order to march. In close rank they come, 
phalanx after phalanx, to retake the land which winter — once conquer- 
ing, now defeated — yields to them. The air resounds with martial music; 
their harsh voices, united, rise in an inspiring chorus. 
The campaign over, they settle in colonies on their recently acquired 
possessions, and these careless rovers become so attached to their 
homes and families that they are rarely seen far from their vicinity. 
Sometimes we may see them walking sedately over the lawns near their 
home, their glossy plumage gleaming in the light, and their yellow eyes 
giving them a peculiar, unbirdlike expression. But when their young are 
old enough to care for themselves, the old habits return, and, leading 
their offspring into the world, they teach them the ways of wanderers. 
Meeting others of their kind, they join forces, and in the fall we find 
them in hordes ravaging the country. 
The Grackle’ s disposition is as gloomy as his plumage is dark. Life 
with him is a serious affair. He seems to utterly lack the Blue Jay’s 
sense of humor. As a parent he is beyond reproach, and every moment 
is devoted to the care of his young, but it is all done in a joyless way. 
Eggs and nestlings form part of his fare, and I can imagine bird-mothers 
frightening their young into obedience by threatened visits from that 
ogre, the Grackle. 
1892. Chapman, F. M., Bull. A. M. N. H., 1-20 (relationships). — 1897. 
Jones, L., Wilson Bull., No. 15, 39-56 (roosts). 
511a. Q. q. aglseus {Baird). Florida Grackle. Ad. <f. — Head, 
neck, throat and upper breast all around metallic violet-purple; back and 
rump rich bottle green, the feathers with more or less concealed iridescent 
bars; wings and tail externally metallic purple or bluish black; the wing- 
coverts generally with iridescent tips; lower breast and belly similar to the 
back but duller. Ad. 9. — Not distinguishable in color from the 9 of Q. q. 
quiscula, but differing in size. W., 5*38; T., 4*90; B., 1*25. 
Range. — S. Atlantic coast from S. C. through to Fla., and w. in the s. 
part of the Gulf States to e. Tex. 
Nesting date, San Mateo, Fla., Mch. 30. 
This is a locally abundant bird, and is found in flocks throughout 
the year. In Florida it sometimes lives in the towns in which live-oaks 
grow, and it also makes its headquarters in cypress ‘bays/ but its 
