292 
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 
500. Agelaius tricolor ( Aud .). Tricolored Blackbird. 
Adult male. — Glossy blue black, plumage with silky luster; epaulettes 
dark red , bordered with white , more or less tinged with buff; in winter , 
plumage softer, more glossy, and white on epaulettes more or less tinged 
with buff. Adult female: texture of plumage like that of male; upper 
parts dusky with greenish or bronzy luster ; crown narrowly streaked ; 
scapulars and interscapulars with grayish edgings; wings with grayish and 
whitish bands; head with superciliary and malar streaks; throat and chest 
streaked; rest of under parts dusky, with paler edgings to feathers. Im¬ 
maturefemale, first winter: like adult female, but browner. Young: like 
female, but browner, and under parts narrowly streaked ; wings with two 
bands. Male : length (skins) 8.00-9.05, wing 4.63-4.87, tail 3.32-3.75, bill 
.87-.95. Female: length (skins) 7.10-7.85, wing 4.11—4.32, tail 2.92-3.16, 
bill .78-.83. 
Distribution. —Valleys of Oregon, California, and Lower California, 
west of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. 
Nest and eggs similar to those of phoeniceus. Eggs: 1 to 4. 
Food. — Young fed entirely on grasshoppers. 
GENUS STURNELLA. 
General Characters. — Bill about as long as head, narrowly wedge- 
shaped, acute and depressed at tip ; tail less than two thirds as long as 
wing, the feathers sharp-pointed; wing short, tertials lengthened — reach- 
Fig. 361. 
ing almost to tips of primaries — feathers of top of head with stiffened 
glossy shafts; outstretched feet reaching beyond tip of tail. 
KEY TO SPECIES. 
1. Yellow of throat enoroaching on malar region . . neglecta, p. 293. 
1'. Yellow of throat not encroaching on malar region . hoopesi, p. 292. 
501a. Sturnella magna hoopesi Stone. Texas Meadowlark. 
Adult male. — Similar to S. m. neglecta , but yellow of throat restricted, not 
encroaching on cheeks, and yellow somewhat deeper and more intense than 
\n neglecta. Adult female: similar, but yellow more orange. Young: 
colors much duller and markings less distinct; black mark on chest only 
