302 REPORT OF THE £HIEF OF ENGINEERS. 
A. phantoms gubernator (Wa 8 l.). Red and Black-shouldered Blackbird. 
This form is less abundant than the former as well Jlf ealf of ‘tbis 1 iife 
along the eastern slope. It appears, as a rule, no^ to ><_ j g no ti C eable in 
but it is reported from Camp Harney, Oregon, by Cal < . » from local- 
this connection that uone of the specimens which aie Thus from the neiab¬ 
ides east of the mountains represent it in its typical condition. 
borhood of Reno, New, at the eastern base of the Sierras close to *J.® 
ifornia we have a series of fLuwr of which border is black-tipped. 
to r rd8 <jah n?%' 
It is interesting tonote that in this same locality the A. I. * * * S. * * * * * * * * * * * * 18 ^^^rmKirti’on 
breeding), and in as truly typical dress as anywhere in the West What Proportion 
of individuals represent either form I cannot say, but believe that by far the laigest 
percentage of the agelwi here are phceniceus. ., , , . h t f i ip i: np n f 
It would thus appear as though the eastern blackbird extends tc'about the line of 
the mountains unchanged;. that here, the influences, as of climate &c., first. beginTobe 
felt, which, only partially operative here, as they become intensified fa J t ^ er 1 
west result in effecting the color change which is seen in typical gubernator. In this 
instance it would appear that the influences are sufficiently strong to aftect only a 
proportion of individuals, which from obscure reasons are more susceptible to their 
workings; while the majority remain true to their type. 
If, as is usually understood to be the case, color varieties are identifiable withi cer¬ 
tain limited areas of distribution, it follows that, as in the present instance, where the 
species inhabits continuously a wide region, the changes of environment are more or 
less gradual, and hence at certain points or along a certain line of distribution it is 
brought under conditions which are intermediate in character and force a soi o 
neutral ground, as it were. From such regions come the specimens which, thoug o en 
the cause of no little perplexity to the naturalist from the difficulties in the way of 
their proper identification, are yet full of interest as furnishing indubitable pi oof of 
the intergradation of forms. 
Sturnella Vieillot. 
S. magna neglecta Aud. Western Meadow Lark. 
Very numerous throughout this whole region. 
Most of the nests discovered were arched over, thus conforming to the usual plan ot 
structure. In oue instance the birds seemed to .find the protection of the tall grass 
an ample safeguard, and the nest was merely a flat open structure, with no attempt at 
a roof. 
Icterus Brisson. 
I. bullocki (Swains.). Bullock’s Oriole. 
Very numerous about Carson and to the northward along the base of the mountains 
up to the Columbia River. 
Begins to nest about Carson about the middle of May. After their arrival and dur¬ 
ing the early part of the summer, the orioles in this locality appear to obtain but very 
little of their subsistence among the trees, but resort in pairs to the hillsides, where on 
the ground among the sage bushes they appeared to glean a full harvest. The exact 
nature of this I did not ascertain; it is probably though some species of worm or cat¬ 
erpillar that infests these plants. 
Scolecophagus Swainson. 
S. eyanocephalus (Wagl.). Brewer’s Blackbird. 
This blackbird is extremely abundant throughout this whole region as a summer vis¬ 
itant, while more or less remain through the winter. 
Elsewhere, as in the Rocky Mountains, I have found little disposition on the part of 
this species to gather into communities at the breeding season. But in this region it is 
comparatively unusual to find this blackbird breeding in other than large colonies, 
and I have found a dozen nests in the space of thirty or forty yards. 
The eggs of no one of our birds are subject to greater extremes of variation than those 
of the Brewer’s blackbird. The differences are apparent not only in the amount of 
markings and their particular shade and character, but also include much variation in 
size and shape. 
CORVIDS—Crows. 
Corvus Linnaeus. 
The question of the existence in the Pacific province of a species or variety of crow 
different from americanus and ossifragus is an interesting one, and a discussion of some 
