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SCOLECOPHAGUS FERPUGINEUS. 
GENUS VII. SCOLECOPHAGUS. THE RUSTY BLACKBIRDS. 
Gen. Ch. Bill, slender, pointed, not very broad at tip, a little shorter than the head. Upper and lower mandibles a lit¬ 
tle curved. Winys, longer than the tail which is slightly rounded. Feet,not large. Sternum, narrow. Keel, higher than 
one half the width of the sternum. Marginal indentations exceeding in depth the height of the heel. Coracoids exceeding in 
length the top of the keel. Stomach, not very muscular. Size, rather large. 
The adult males are black in color, but the females are duller, while the young show rusty markings. There are never 
any bright colors. 
SCOLECOPHAGUS FEREUGIKEUS. 
Rusty Graekle. 
Scolecophagus ferruginous Swainson., F. Bor. Am., II; 1831, 286. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Sp. Ch. Form, rather robust. Size, quite large. Feet, medium. Tongue, long, thin and horny, with a terminal 
tuft of hair-like Abel’s. Sternum, as given above. 
Color. Adult male in summer. Uniform lustrous black throughout, with greenish reflections. Bill, black, lighter 
at base of lower mandible. Feet, brown. 
Adult female in sumemr. Uniform dark-plumbeous throughout, lighter on the throat, becoming very dark on the wings 
and tail where there are greenish reflections. 
Adult and young in autumn. Similar to the summer adult but having all thefeathers margined with reddish-brown, 
while the adult females are darker. 
Young of the year. The males are dull black with the entire plumage overwashed with reddish-brown. There are also 
superciliary lines of the same. The female is dull-plumbeous, but is so overwashed with rusty that the ground color is quite 
obscured. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
There is considerable variation in size but there is no essential difference in color in birds of the same age and sex. 
Readily known by the uniform black and plumbeous plumage in the adult stage, and the young may be distinguished by 
the rusty overwashing. Distributed in summer throughout Eastern North America, north of the White Mountain range. 
Winters from the Carolinas to Middle Florida. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Average measurements of ten specimens. Length, 9’50; stretch, 14’50; wing, 4*45; tail, 3*50; bill, ’75; tarsus, 1*25. 
Longest specimen, 9’70; greatest extent of wing, 14*90; longest wing, 4’80; tail, 3’95; bill, ’80; tarsus, 1’30. Shortest speci¬ 
men, 8’65; smallest extent of wing, 13’6(>; shortest wing, 4’12; tail, 3’35; bill, ’70; tarsus, 1’20. 
DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 
Nests, placed in bushes, composed of twigs, weeds, and grass, the latter being mixed with mud. The whole is lined 
with leaves and fine grass. Dimensions; external diameter, 6’50, internal, 2’00. External depth, 4’00, internal, 2’00. 
Eggs, from three to five in number, oval in form, pale-blue in color, spotted and lined with light-brown. Dimensions 
from l’05x’75to l’00x’70. 
HABITS. 
Just south of Blue Springs, Florida, was a thick grove of Palmettoes which bordered 
a narrow strip of marsh that lay between it and the St. John’s River. These trees, like 
many others which grow in rich soil, were quite high and the fronds very large, consequent¬ 
ly the shade was so dense that the sun was quite excluded. Thus a somber light pervaded 
the place which was not conducive to the growth of plants so that the dark soil was covered 
with rapidly decaying fragments of palm fronds. This debris naturally formed a shelter 
for many insects and minute mollusks which were, however, far from being safe in their 
gloomy retreat, for large numbers of Rusty Grackles had found that they were abundant 
