300 
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 
obscured by rusty brown above and buffy below. Adult female in summer: 
brownish slate, faintly glossed with bluish green on upper parts. Adult 
female in winter : brownish gray or slaty, washed with rusty above and 
buffy beneath. Young : like female in winter, but colors duller and plum¬ 
age looser; wings with rusty bands. Male: length (skins) 8.25-9.30, wing 
4.50-4.60, tail 3.39-3.65, bill .72-.78. Female: length (skins) 7.80-8.30, 
wing 4.21-4.39, tail 3.11-3.30, bill .68-75. 
Distribution. — Breeds in Boreal zone from Alaska and Hudson Bay 
south to northern New York, New England, and Michigan, and west in the 
United States to western Nebraska and Colorado ; migrates to the Gulf of 
Mexico. 
Nest. — A bulky structure of dried twigs, shreds of bark, and mosses, 
placed in bushes. Eggs : 2 to 8, pale bluish green, olive, or rusty brown, 
speckled or blotched with brown. 
Food. — Preferably animal matter, including insects, especially beetles 
and grasshoppers; also grain and weed seed. 
The rusty blackbird is mainly a bird of the eastern states, but 
occasionally goes as far west as the eastern slope of the Rocky 
Mountains. Unlike most other blackbirds, it is fond of forests. 
510. Scolecophagus cyanocephalus ( Wagl. ). Brewer 
Blackbird. 
Adult male in summer. — Glossy greenish black, head and neck purplish 
black. Adult male in winter : similar 
to summer male, but more highly 
glossed. Adult female in summer': 
head, neck, and under parts brown¬ 
ish gray, faintly glossed with violet 
on head and neck and with green on under parts; upper parts darker, 
wings and tail more glossed with bluish green. Adult female in winter: 
similar to summer female, but paler, more buffy gray anteriorly. Imma¬ 
ture male in first winter: like adult male, but feathers largely tipped with 
grayish brown. Young: like winter females, but feathers with different 
texture and without gloss. Male: length (skins) 8.40-9.75, wing 4.73-5.27, 
tail 3.62-4.22, bill .83-.9S. Female: length (skins) 7.80-8.70, wing 4.56- 
4.71, tail 3.43-3.65, bill .75-. 82. 
Distribution. — Transition and Upper Sonoran zone from Manitoba and 
British Columbia south in the mountains to Lower California and Guate¬ 
mala, and from northwestern Minnesota and Nebraska west to the Pacific. 
Nest. — Low, in trees or bushes made of sticks, plant stalks, grass, 
bark, and rootlets, generally cemented with earth or manure, and lined 
with rootlets or hair. Eggs : usually 4 to 6, grayish or greenish ground 
color, variably marked but usually profusely blotched, streaked, and 
spotted with browns and lavender. 
Food. — Largely grain, weed seed, and grasshoppers. 
The Brewer blackbird, whose glossy blue black coat makes him 
one of the handsomest of his race, is the dooryard blackbird of city 
and country. He often nests in oaks beside ranch houses, and lords 
it over the barnyard fowls with great airs of proprietorship. 
Like all blackbirds he has mannerisms. When disturbed at the 
nest he spreads his tail nervously and calls chaclc , and when sitting 
Fig. 366. 
