TV lees DelsbeOe Nemes ely ie Mest N At 
We need some real conservation leadership in those states where the 
dove should be given complete protection, starting with Illinois, which is 
a wildlife conservation desert anyway. And, if we are not to send the 
mourning dove down the tragic path of its cousin, the passenger pigeon, we 
must have some courageous conservation leadership, federal and state, to 
manage the bird intelligently in the South. 
Nature Magazine, October, 1948 
fH (a ‘it 
The Family Icterdae* 
By ANNA C. AMES 
4. Brewer’s Blackbird: The other name of the Brewer’s Blackbird is 
Blue-headed Blackbird. Mr. J. Ellis Burdick in Birds of America says that 
the Brewer’s Blackbird is “handsomest of all the blackbird race.” I have 
been inclined to agree with him in this statement ever since the fortunate 
day when I saw a flock of several dozen of these birds in the Touhy area 
of Chicago. As the birds rose in flight with the sun shining upon them 
they looked almost unbelievably blue. I thought then that I had not known 
that a blackbird could be so beautiful. 
The Brewer’s Blackbird is a very common bird in suitable localities 
throughout its western range. He is a rather slim and sleek looking bird 
with a square-ended tail, all black at a little distance but showing violet 
reflections on his head and neck, and bluish-greenish iridescence on his 
body plumage when seen in a good light. Like the grackles he has light 
yellow eyes. His mate has dark brown eyes. Where he is most at home 
“he does not hide his beauty in some woodland solitude but comes freely 
about barnyards,” where he lords it over poultry and English Sparrows. 
He has the habit of walking about with wings slightly drooped. 
As is the case with all blackbirds except the Rusty, the female of this 
species is smaller than the male. Her head, neck, and underparts are a 
brownish-slate color, but she is faintly glossed with greenish on the under- 
parts of her body and on her head and neck. Her wings and tail are 
strongly glossed with bluish-green. The young are duller than the female. 
Irregularities sometimes occur in Blackbird as well as in other families. 
I once saw a Blackbird (Rusty or Brewer’s; I am not sure which) with 
a decided band of yellow on the end of the tail. 
The voice of the Brewer’s Blackbird is not anything to admire. His 
note sounds like chink or check, and his song, so-called, is wheezy, rusty, 
and squeaky. 
The courtship of this beautiful bird is a simple affair. ‘The males 
walk about slowly, occasionally raising the head and neck straight up in 
the air and holding them so for a short time. Every little while they pause 
and puff out the body feathers.” The love song is a sputtering, rather 
ludicrous attempt at music, but has the effect desired. Though the male 
*This study by Mrs. Ames, begun in the June, 1948, issue, will be continued 
in succeeding numbers until the entire family has been described. 
