530 
U. S. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS—ZOOLOGY—GENERAL REPORT. 
List of specimens. 
Catal. 
No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
When collected 
Whence obtained. 
Orig. 
No. 
Collected by— 
Length. 
Stretch 
of wings 
Wing. 
2835 
$ 
S F. Baird_ 
J. K. Townsend . 
6531 
$ 
Feb. —, 1856 
E. Samuels_ 
195 
5526 
183 
6530 
Q 
_(lO___ e -- 
May 14,1856 
.do. 
839 
7.75 
11.54 
4. 33 
8599 
11. D. Cutts_ 
5933 
Santa, Clara, Cal_ 
Gov. Stevens_ 
Dr. Cooper_ 
8. 00 
13. 00 
5935 
9 
.do .. 
8.12 
13. 50 
8601 
Sacramento valley_ 
Lt. Williamson.. 
8597 
Camp 150. Cocomongo 
May 19,1854 
■ 
Lt. Whipple_ 
188 
Kenn. & Moll... 
ranch, Cal. 
4599 ? 
Colorado river, Cal.. 
Major Emory_ 
50 
A. Schott_ 
4600? 
4598? 
_do_ 
Mar. —, 1854 
.do. 
50 
_do_ 
AGrELAIUS TRICOLOR, Bon. 
Red and white-shouldered Blackbird. 
Icterus tricolor, “ Nuttall,” Aud. Orn. Rio?. V, 1839, 1 ; pi. 388.— Nuttall, Man. I, 2d ed. 1840, 186. 
Jlgelaius tricolor, Bon. List, 1838.— Aud. Syn. 1839, 141.— Ib. Birds Amcr. IV, 1842, 27 ; pi. 214. 
Sp. Ch.—T ail nearly even. Second and third quills longest ; first a little shorter than the fourth. Bill slender, not half as 
high as long. 
Male —General color uniform lustrous velvet black, with a decided greenish reflection. Shoulders and lesser wing coverts 
brownish red, of much the color of venous blood; the median coverts of a well-defined and nearly pure white, with sometimes 
a brownish tinge. 
Female. —Dark brown, variegated with dark grayish ash. No median stripe on the crown, nor any maxillary one, and scarcely 
a superciliary. 
Length, 9.20 ; wing, 4.85 ; tail, 3.90. 
Hab .—Coast of California. Colorado river ? 
The hill of this species is about the length of that of A. phoeniceus, it is, however, lower ; the 
greatest height perpendicular to the base of the gonys being considerably less than half the 
culmen. There are distinct wrinkles or striae extending from the nostrils parallel with the 
culmen, and sometimes on the lower jaw nearly parallel with the gonys. Tail very nearly even, 
or slightly rounded. Tarsus about equal to the middle toe. The second and third quills are 
longest; the first much longer than the fifth. 
The female of this species is dark brown above, the feathers margined with brownish gray; 
the under parts dark gray, the feathers broadly streaked with dark brown. The throat is con¬ 
spicuously streaked, its ground color lighter than on the belly. There is a faint indication of a 
paler superciliary stripe, most distinct behind the eye. In one specimen there is no red on the 
wing ; in another it is quite distinct. The under surface of the wing and the axillaries are 
sooty plumbeous brown. 
Immature males sometimes have the white on the wing tinged with brownish yellow, as in 
A . phoeniceus. The red, however, has the usual brownish orange shade so much darker and 
duller than the brilliantly scarlet shoulders of the other species. The relationships generally 
between the two species are very close, but the bill, as stated, is slenderer and more sulcate 
in tricolor , the tail much more nearly even ; the first primary longer, usually nearly equal to or 
longer than the fourth instead of the fifth. 
