16 TL HOE? A: U DUB ON] 38 GU Ea egies 
winter months. In autumn great flocks of these birds may be observed in 
the trees and shrubs of the campus of the University of Illinois. 
The chack or chuck of the rusties resembles that of other blackbirds, 
but their song — if so it should be called — is unmistakable. It sounds 
like the creaking of a rusty hinge and is rather penetrating but not alto- 
gether unmelodious. Nothing else in the eastern United States closely 
resembles its fine creak or whistle intermingled more or less with gurgling 
or choking sounds. 
The nest of Rusty Blackbirds, placed in bushes or small trees — alders 
or willows — within a foot or two of water, is rather bulky and is con- 
structed of layers of leaves, grass, and muck, often lined with fine bright 
green grass. The bluish-green eggs are blotched and spotted with different 
shades of chestnut, sepia, and drab, but are distinctive in that the pen lines 
and scrawls characteristic of the eggs of other blackbirds are nearly al- 
ways absent. 
In spring these blackbirds feed mostly on insects but eat also weed 
seeds and waste grain. Numerous water beetles and their larvae, snout 
beetles, leaf beetles, May beetles, and great numbers of other beetles, nearly 
all of which are harmful, compose part of their diet. In the autumn, in the 
cornfields, stubble fields, and beech woods, the birds eat the same kinds of 
food as in the spring, though probably the percentage of insects is even 
higher. They eat little wheat, oats, or corn, and are really helpful to 
agriculture. 
ft fl fl 
“Lire HISTORIES oF NORTH AMERICAN NUTHATCHES, WRENS, THRASHERS AND 
THEIR ALLIES,” another volume in the series by Arthur Cleveland Bent, 
has just been published. 
It comprises 475 pages and 90 plates in black and white. These issues 
in the past have usually been sold out quickly, but as long as it is available 
the current number, United States National Museum Bulletin 195, may be 
purchased at $1.75 per copy, from the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. 
Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D.C. 
This is a continuation of Mr. Bent’s most excellent series of ‘Life 
Histories, of which many volumes are unfortunately out of print. A start 
has been made, however, toward reprinting them commercially, which we 
trust will be continued as it deserves success. 
ca, ft £7 
THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE urges all members to continue to send in the 
names of their friends who should be members of the ILLINOIS 
AUDUBON SOCIETY. As announced in the June issue of the Bulletin, 
ALL members who secure’6 or more new members, will be given a free 
copy of Kortright’s beautiful book, “The Ducks, Geese & Swans of North 
America” regardless of whether or not they are one of the winners in 
the membership contest. 
