BOBOLINK. | 351 
tree, it sits motionless, and sings at short intervals pe ar, pe, che-che-che. It 
is a restless, busy bird, and resents intrusion upon his premises by scold- 
ing notes, short contemptuous flights and disdainful flirtings of his fine 
tail, of which he is evidently proud. When his notes are not heard his 
presence is indicated by the noise he makes in running over and scratch- 
ing among the dry leaves. 
The nest is usually well sunken in a depression of the ground at the 
root of a bush or young sapling. Several instances, however, have been 
brought to my notice where it has been placed in trees and bushes eight 
or ten feet above the ground. It is composed almost entirely of stems of 
grass, upon a foundation of dead leaves. The egys are white, thickly 
spotted with light ashy-brown, and measure .98 by .80. 
UN IMEI MC CMY ID ICID | Oss IOI, Jos 
Primaries nine. Bill conic, but lengthened; little, if any, shorter than head; the 
angulation of tomia evident; no notch at end. Nustrils high. No rictal bristles. 
Sub family AGELAIN AY. Marsh Blackbirds. 
Bill stont, conical, acutely pointed, not longer than the head; the outlines nearly 
straight. Legs longer than the head, adapted for walking. Claws not much curved. 
Tail moderate, shorter than the wings, nearly even. 
Genus DOLICHONYX. Swainson. 
Bill short, little more than half the head Tarsus shorter than middle tee; inner toe 
longer than outer, not reaching base of middle claw, Wings long, pointed. Tail feath- 
ers acutely pointed at tip, with the shafts stiffened and rigid as in the Woodpeckers. 
DoLIcHONYX oRyzIvorus (L.) Sw. 
Wobolink; Reedbirds; Ricebird. 
Icterus agripennis, NUTTALL, Man, i, 1832, 185.—KiKxTLAND, Ohio Geolog. Surv., 1838, 162. 
—-READ, Fam. Vis., iii, 1853, 319; Proc. Phila. Acad. Nat. Sci., vi, 1853, 395. 
Dolichonyx oryzivorus, NUTTALL, Man, i, 2d ed., 1840, 198 —~Wueaton, Ohio Agric. Rep. 
for 1860, 366, 376; Reprint, le6l, 8, 18; Food of Birds, etc., Ohio Agric. Rep. for 
1874, 567; Reprint, 1875, 7—LANGDON, Cat. Birds of Cin., 1877, 9; Journ. Cin. Soc. 
Nat Hist, i, 1878, 115; Reprint, 6; Revised List, Journ. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 
176; Reprint, 10. 
Emberiza oryzivora, LINNAUS, Syst. Nat., i, 1766, 311. 
icterus agripennis, BONAPARTE, Obs. Wils, 1824, No. 87. 
Dolichonyx oryzivorus, SWAINSON, Zool. Journ., iii, 1827, 351. 
Male in spring: black; cervix buff: scapulars, ramp, and upper tail-coverts ashy- 
white; interscapniars streaked with black, buff, and ashy ; outer quills edged with yel- 
lowish ; bill blackish-horn; feet brown. Male in fall, female and young, entirely dif- 
