286 
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 
5'. Claws of side toes not reaching beyond middle toe. 
6. Side claws not reaching to end of middle toe; summer males 
glossy blue black. Scolecophagus, p. 299. 
6'. Side claws reaching to end of middle toe; 
males with red shoulder patches. 
Agelaius, p. 289. 
Fig. 357. 
GENUS DOLICHONYX. 
494. Dolichonyx oryzivorus (Linn.). Bobolink. 
Bill conic-acute, cutting edges bent in; tail shorter than wing, with 
stiffened acute feathers ; wings long and pointed; feet stout, tarsus shorter 
than middle toe and claw; claws all very large. Adult male in spring : 
under parts wholly black; upper parts black, with cream or buffy brown 
patch on hind neck, light streaking on wing and fore parts of back, gray¬ 
ish scapulars, and white hind back, rump, and upper tail coverts. Adult 
female : ground color yellowish brown, paler and plain on under parts 
except for blackish streaks on flanks; heavily streaked on upper parts; 
crown with buffy brown median stripe. Adult male in fall and winter : 
similar to adult female, but streaking of upper parts blacker. Young, 
first fall and winter : like adult female. Young , first plumage: like adult 
female but more buffy, with necklace of faint dusky spots; flank streaks 
obsolete. Male: length (skins) G.30-7.40, wing 3.69-4.00, tail 2.47-2.70, 
bill .58-69. Female: length (skins) 6.00-6.55, wing 3.35-3.53, tail 2.31- 
2.54, bill .57-61. 
Distribution. — Breeds in Transition zone in open prairies and cleared 
districts from Assiniboia south through the middle states, and from the 
Atlantic west to Idaho and eastern Nevada; migrates to the West Indies 
and South America. 
Nest. — In a slight depression in the ground, made of dried weed stems 
and grasses. Eggs: 5 to 7, from gray to reddish brown, irregularly spot¬ 
ted and blotched with browns and purples. 
Food. — Insects, including grasshoppers, locusts, weevils, and caterpil¬ 
lars ; also rice, oats, and weed seed. 
The bobolink seems to be gradually spreading westward, and 
wherever it goes adds another rare song bird to the country. ‘ Robert 
o’ Lincoln ’ is a rollicking, joyous fellow, his song bubbling up from 
a well of good spirits. No eastern orchard or meadow seems quite 
complete without him and May is not May until he has come. 
