144 
ORNITH 
Purple Gkackle ( Quiscalus jPurpureus), 
commonly known as “Crow Blackbird.” 
During a visit to Plum Island, the home 
of the Osprey, it occurred to us that the 
Crow Blackbird was not at all particular 
where its nest was placed. On this island 
there are immense quantities of this bird 
and their nests were in every conceivable 
position. Under every Fish Hawk’s nest 
that were in trees, there were from one to 
five or six nests of the Crow Blackbird. 
Wherever the Osprey’s nest had rotted off 
the top of the pepperidge tree it left a 
cavity in the top of the trunk into which 
this Blackbird placed its nest. They were 
also very plenty in the trees alone and 
also in the bushes within two feet of the 
ground. On the main land we have found 
them singly on maples by the roadside ; 
also saddled on the limbs of immense 
elms, in the topmost branches; also in 
Norway spruces, both small and large. 
Wherever circumstances favor it they 
breed in colonies. We know of one aged 
white pine that contains from fifty to one 
hundred nests each year, making it appear 
like an immense bee-hive, as the birds 
were continually flying to and from the 
tree. During a recent visit (May 17) to 
the home of Willis P. Hazard, of West- 
chester, Pa., where the Crow Blackbirds 
were breeding very plentifully in the long, 
horizontal branches of the white pines on 
the lawn. There was nothing unusual in 
this, but we noticed in the woodbine that 
twined around the pinza posts, a large 
nest, unusual for such position. It was 
just out of reach, but a step-ladder enabled 
us to look into the nest, which was filled 
with young Crow Blackbirds. The family 
and visitors were continually passing un- 
der this ^jaejjt. 
l.p./i+if- 
\c In visiting 
a colony of Purpl e Crackles I found another 
curious set. There is no doubt of their 
identity for I saw the female on the nest, 
which was a common P. G’s nest. There 
were four eggs ; three of them dark brown, 
scratched, mottled and blotched all over 
with darker brown. The fourth was a 
light olive green, with large blotches of 
light brown or bronze. There were no 
scratches of any kind on this egg and all 
the colors were very light, though entirely 
different from a normal Crackle egg, as 
well as from the other three. An expe- 
rienced collector to whom I showed one of 
the dark eggs (without telling its history) 
pronounced it a Nighthawk’s {Chordeiles 
popetue) egg. I don’t suppose this is a 
new species, but it certainly is a curious 
freak of nature., 
JbJccoi. b. f&Msrvir 
1 
Oh a Collection of Eggs from 
Georgia,, H.B. Bailey, 
37 • Quiscalus purpureus. Purple Grackle. — Nests in trees, sel- 
dom in the salt marshes; eggs three or four. April 15. 
N, 0,0, 3, -Jan, 2883, p. 39 
