BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. FAMILY ICTERIDÆ
BOBOLINK
Dolichonyx oryzivorus. [Case 7], Figs. 13, 14
In July, after nesting, the male molts into a plumage resembling that of the female, when both are known as Reedbird. L 7¼.
Range. Nests from northern New Jersey and northern Missouri to southern Canada and westward to British Columbia; leaves the United States through Florida and winters chiefly in northwestern Argentina; returns to United States early in April.
Washington, T.V., common in spring, abundant in fall; Apl. 26-May 30; July 23-Nov. 14. Ossining, tolerably common S.R., May 1-Oct. 5. Cambridge, very common S.R., May 8-Sept. 10. N. Ohio, common S.R., Apl. 10-Oct. 10. Glen Ellyn, S.R., Apl. 27-Oct. 9. SE. Minn., common S.R., Mch. 5-Aug. 27.
A bird with a dual personality; welcome minstrel of the meadows when nesting, dread scourge of the rice-fields when traveling. With the loss of his trim suit of black, white, and buff, Bob loses also his merry tinkling, rippling song, and acquires with his streaked Reedbird suit a single watchword. Tink, tink he calls from somewhere overhead, and tink, tink his comrades answer as they follow a trackless path through the sky on their 5000-mile journey.
The nest is placed on the ground and 4-7 grayish, blotched eggs are laid late in May or early in June.
COWBIRD
Molothrus ater ater. [Case 5], Figs. 8, 9
The male's brown head distinguishes him from other Blackbirds; the female wears a dull gray garb well designed to make her inconspicuous. L. 8.
Range. North America; nesting from North Carolina and Louisiana to Canada; winters from Virginia and Ohio southward.
Washington, rather rare P.R., common T.V. Ossining, common S.R., Mch. 23-Nov. 11. Cambridge, common S.R., Mch. 25-Nov. 1; occasional in winter. N. Ohio, abundant S.R., Mch. 10-Nov. 15. Glen Ellyn, common S.R., Mch. 15-Sept. 10. SE. Minn., common S.R., Apl. 11-Aug. 19.
Outlaws among birds, they pair not neither do they build. Without moral standards or maternal instincts the female accepts the attention of any male that chances to win her fancy and deposits her eggs in the nests of other birds. She is a slacker and a shirker, who keeps much in the background during the breeding season. Color, habit, his sliding, glassy whistle, and guttural gurgling, make the male conspicuous. Leaving the care of their foster parents the young join others of their kind and flock in the grainfields or about cattle in the pastures.
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. [Case 6], Fig. 45
Large size and a yellow head distinguish the male; the female is duller, the body brownish, the head yellowish. L. 10.
Range. Mississippi Valley and westward, breeding from northern Illinois northward to Canada; winters from the west Gulf coast and southern California into Mexico; accidental east of the Alleghanies.
Washington, A.V., one instance, Aug. Cambridge, A.V., one record, Oct. Glen Ellyn, A.V., May 21, 1898. SE. Minn., common S.R., Apl. 21.
Hanging their cradle nest in the quill-reeds or rushes, the Yellow-heads are not found far from it until the young take wing. The male entertains his mate with a variety of strange calls and whistles, but leaves to her the hatching of the brown speckled eggs and care of the young while they are in the nest. Like other Blackbirds they migrate and winter in flocks.
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
Agelaius phœniceus phœniceus. [Case 5], Figs. 5, 6
The male in spring and early summer is unmistakable; in winter his feathers are tipped with brownish, more pronounced in the young. The streaked females require closer scrutiny. L. 9½.
Range. Eastern North America, nests from Florida to Canada; winters from Maryland southward, sometimes farther north. The Florida Red-wing (A. p. floridanus, [Case 4], Figs. 28, 29) is smaller and with a slenderer bill. It inhabits Florida (except the southeast coast and Keys) and ranges west along the Gulf coast to Texas. The Bahama Red-wing (A. p. bahamensis) is still smaller. It is resident in southeastern Florida, the Keys and Bahamas.
Washington, common P.R., abundant in migration. Ossining, common S.R., Feb. 25-Nov. 11. Cambridge, abundant S.R., Mch. 10-Aug. 30; a few winter. N. Ohio, abundant S.R., Mch. 1-Nov. 15. Glen Ellyn, common S.R., Mch. 5-Nov. 19. SE. Minn., common S.R., Mch. 8-Nov. 14.
The Red-wing's mellow kong-quer-reee is as certain an indication of the presence of water as is the piping of frogs in the spring. It may be only a bit of boggy marshland, it may be a reedy lakeside, but water there will surely be. On a frequented perch he half spreads his wings, fluffs out his scarlet epaulets, bursting into bloom, as it were, when he utters his notes—a singing flower! The nest is in the alders, button-bushes, or reeds, or even on the ground, and although the birds come in March, their pale blue, spotted, blotched, and scrawled eggs are not laid until May. Except when nesting, Red-wings live in flocks.
MEADOWLARK
Sturnella magna magna. [Case 2], Fig. 23
A large, quail-like bird which shows white outer tail-feathers when it flies; if one can obtain a front view, the yellow underparts and black breast-crescent are conspicuous. L. 10¾.
Range. Eastern North America, rare west of the Mississippi; nesting from North Carolina and Missouri to Canada; winters from southern New England and northern Ohio southward. The Southern Meadowlark (S. m. argutula, [Case 4], Fig. 79) is smaller and darker. It is resident in the south Atlantic and Gulf States.
Washington, common P.R., less common in winter. Ossining, tolerably common S.R., Feb. 20-Nov. 27; a few winter. Cambridge, common S.R., not common W.V. N. Ohio, abundant S.R., Mch. 5-Nov. 15; a few winter. Glen Ellyn, common S.R., Jan. 24-Nov. 15; irregular W.V. SE. Minn., common S.R., Mch. 25-Oct. 15; rare W.V.
The Meadowlark is a fifer of the fields, whose high, clear whistle is one of the most welcome bird songs of early spring. In May, when nesting, it often sings an ecstatic twittering warble on the wing. The alarm calls are an unmusical dzit or yert and a string of beady, metallic notes.
The nest is placed on the ground. The 4-6 eggs are white, speckled with brown.
WESTERN MEADOWLARK
Sturnella neglecta
Grayer than the Eastern Meadowlark, with disconnected tail-bars and yellow spreading to the sides of the throat.
Range. Western United States, rare east of the Mississippi. SE. Minn., common S.R., Mch. 25-Oct. 15.
With the general appearance and habits of the Eastern Meadowlark, but differing in its call-notes and song. Instead of the sharp dzit or yert and metallic twitter of the eastern bird, the western species calls chuck, chuck, followed by a rolling b-r-r-r-. The eastern bird plays the fife but the western uses the flute, and its bubbling grace-notes are easily distinguishable from the straight whistling of its eastern cousin.
ORCHARD ORIOLE
Icterus spurius. [Case 7], Figs. 10-12
Adult males are unmistakable, but females and young males in their first fall wear a non-committal costume and must be looked at sharply. In their first nesting season, young males resemble the female but have a black throat. This is a smaller, more slender bird than the Baltimore Oriole, and the female is less orange. L. 7¼.
Range. Eastern United States, nesting from the Gulf States to Massachusetts and Minnesota; winters in the tropics.
Washington, common S.R., Apl. 20-Aug. 22. Ossining, common S.R., May 2-Aug. 6. Cambridge, S.R., sometimes rather common, May 15-July. N. Ohio, common S.R., Apl. 28-Sept. 5. Glen Ellyn, not common S.R., Apl. 38. SE. Minn., uncommon S.R., May 10-Aug. 26.
In the northern part of its range, the Orchard Oriole is somewhat less common, and more local than the Baltimore Oriole, while its duller colors and more retiring habits make is more difficult to see. The voice is richer, more cultured—if one may use the term—than that of its brilliant orange-plumed cousin; indeed, in my opinion, this species deserves a place in the first rank of our songsters. The nest of finely woven grasses is not so deep as that of the Baltimore. Three to five bluish white eggs, spotted and scrawled with black, are laid the latter part of May.
BALTIMORE ORIOLE
Icterus galbula. [Case 7], Figs. 8, 9
The orange and black male needs no introduction; the female is tinted with orange strongly enough to show her relationship. L. 7½.
Range. Eastern North America; nests from northern Georgia to Canada; winters in the tropics.
Washington, rather common S.R., Apl. 29-Aug. 26. Ossining, common S.R., May 2-Sept. 1. Cambridge, very common S.R., May 8 through Aug. N. Ohio, common S.R., Apl. 15-Sept. 10. Glen Ellyn, common S.R., Apl. 26-Sept. 4. SE. Minn., common S.R., May 1-Sept. 1.
This is the orange-and-black whistler of our fruit and shade trees, whose wife skillfully weaves a pendant cradle at the end of some drooping branch, therein to lay her white eggs curiously marked with fine lines and blotches of black. The young, after leaving the nest in June, have a loud, babyish food-call, dee-dee-dee-dee, repeated time after time until their wants are satisfied.
RUSTY BLACKBIRD
Euphagus carolinus. [Case 5], Figs. 3, 4
The bird's common name is based on the fall plumage of the male, which is broadly margined with rusty. By spring these tips wear off and the bird is glossy black. Size of the Red-wing but with a whitish eye and no red; the female unstreaked.
Range. Eastern North America; nests from the northern part of the northern states to Canada; winters from New Jersey and Ohio to the Gulf States.
Washington, common W.V., Oct. 13-Apl. 30. Ossining, common T.V., Mch. 26-May 8; Sept. 28-Nov. 27. Cambridge, very common T.V., Mch. 10-May 8; Sept. 15-Oct. 31. N. Ohio, common T.V., Mch. 5-May 10; Sept. 10-Nov. 15. Glen Ellyn, common T.V., Mch. 3-May 8; Sept. 12-Nov. 15; uncommon W.V. SE. Minn., common T.V., Mch. 26-Nov. 24.
This is the least conspicuous of our Blackbirds. It nests chiefly north of the United States, migrates in small flocks, and is less noisy than the Red-wing or Grackle and not so much in evidence as the Cowbird. Dwight describes its notes as "a confused medley of whistles, sweeter and higher-pitched than those of the Red-wing." It nests in May, building in coniferous trees or near the ground, and laying 4-7 greenish eggs, heavily marked with brown and purple.
PURPLE GRACKLE
Quiscalus quiscula quiscula. [Case 5], Fig. 1
Plumage varied with metallic and iridescent reflections; tail long, fan-shaped, often 'keeled' in flight; eye pale yellow. Male, L. 12½. The female is smaller and duller; L. 10½.
Range. Eastern North America; nests east of the Alleghanies from northern Georgia to Connecticut; winters from Maryland southward.
Washington, common T.V. and S.R., Feb. 20; a few winter. Ossining, tolerably common S.R., Feb. 15-Nov. 8. Cambridge, rare S.R.
The Florida Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula aglæus, [Case 4], Fig. 74) is smaller than the Purple Grackle and has the head and neck violet-purple, the back bottle-green. It is resident in Florida and the Gulf States north to South Carolina.
The Bronzed Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula œneus, [Case 5], Fig. 2) is the same size as the Purple Grackle, but has the body bronzy without iridescent markings. It nests from Texas up the Mississippi Valley and eastward through central New York and Massachusetts to New Brunswick, north to Canada; and in migration is found in the range of the Purple Grackle. It winters from the Ohio Valley southward.
Washington, rare T.V., Feb 20-Apl. 17. Ossining, common T.V., Apl; Nov. Cambridge, abundant. S.R., Mch. 10-Nov. 1; occasional in winter. N. Ohio, abundant, S.R., Mch. 1-Nov. 15; rarely winters. Glen Ellyn, common S.R., Mch. 5-Nov. 15, SE. Minn, common S.R., Mch, 18-Nov. 1; rare in winter.
The Grackle is the largest of our northern Blackbirds. In the south it is exceeded in size only by the Boat-tailed Grackle. It migrates in flocks and nests in colonies, often in parks and cemeteries. It feeds chiefly on the ground and is frequently seen upon our lawns when it may be known by its rather waddling, walking gait, and its long tail. Its notes are harsh, cracked and discordant, but when heard in chorus make a pleasing medley. The nest is sometimes placed in pines about 30 feet up, but also in bushes and even in holes in trees. The 3-7 eggs are usually pale bluish, heavily blotched and scrawled with brown and black.
BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE
Megaquiscalus major major
The male is a long-tailed, glossy blue-black bird. (L. 16.) The female is much smaller (L. 12), blackish brown above, buff below.
Range. Florida north on the Atlantic coast to Virginia; west to Texas.
This giant Grackle frequents lakes, lagoons and bays, where it feeds along the shore or among aquatic plants. The male, a poseur among birds, strikes strange attitudes with bill pointing skyward, and with apparent effort forces out hoarse whistles. The female is quiet and unassuming. They nest in colonies, building in bushes and laying in April 3-5 bluish white eggs, strikingly blotched and scrawled with blackish.