Page 317 Meadowlark. 499. Bicolored Red-wing. Agelaius gubernator californicus. Range.--Pacific coast, west of the Sierra Nevadas, from Washington south to Lower California. Dull bluish white. The males of this species are distinguished from those of the Red-wings by the absence of light margins to the orange red shoulders. They are fairly abundant in their restricted localities, building their nests in swamps about ponds and streams. The nests are like those of the Red-wings, and the eggs are similar and with the same great variations in markings, but average a trifle smaller; size .95 × .67. 500. Tricolored Red-wing. Agelaius tricolor. Range.--Pacific coast of California and Oregon; rare east of the Sierra Nevadas. Dull bluish white. This species differs from the Red-wing in having the shoulders a much darker red and the median coverts white instead of buffy. Like the last species they have a limited range and are nowhere as common as are the Red-wings in the east. Their nests are like those of the Red-wings and the eggs are not distinguishable in their many variations, but they appear to be more often lined than those of the former. 500--501.1. 501. Meadowlark. Sturnella magna magna. Range.--North America east of the Plains and north to Nova Scotia and Manitoba; winters from New England southward. White. This handsome dweller among our fields and meadows is frequently heard giving his high, pleasing, flute-like whistle with its variations; his beautiful yellow breast with its black crescent is not so frequently seen in life, for they are usually quite shy birds. They artfully conceal their nests on the ground among the tall grass of meadows, arching them over with dead grass. During May or June they lay from four to six white eggs, speckled over the whole surface with reddish brown and purplish; size 1.10 × .80. 501a. Rio Grande Meadowlark. Sturnella magna hoopesi. Range.--A brighter and slightly smaller variety found along the Mexican border.





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NEST AND EGGS OF MEADOWLARK.
Page 319 Audubon Oriole. 501.1. Western Meadowlark. Sturnella neglecta. Range.--North America west of the Mississippi and from Manitoba and British Columbia southward, its range overlapping that of the eastern Meadowlark in the Mississippi Valley, but the two varieties appear not to intermingle. This variety is paler than the eastern, but the greatest point of difference is in the songs, they being wholly unlike, and that of the western bird much louder, sweeter and more varied than the simple whistle of the eastern form. The nesting habits of both varieties are the same and the eggs indistinguishable. 501c. Southern Meadowlark. Sturnella magna argutula. Range.--Florida and the Gulf coast. A very similar bird to the northern form but slightly smaller and darker. There is no difference between the eggs of the two varieties. 503. Audubon's Oriole. Icterus melanocephalus auduboni. Range.--Mexico and the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. White. This large Oriole has a wholly black head, neck, fore breast, tail and wings; it is 9.5 inches in length. They are quite abundant and resident in southern Texas where they build at low elevations in trees, preferably mesquites, making the nests of woven grasses and hanging them from the small twigs of the trees; the nests are more like those of the Orchard Oriole and not long and pensile like those of the Baltimore. The three to five eggs are grayish white, blotched, clouded, spotted or streaked with brownish and purple. Size 1.00 x .70. Data.--Brownsville, Texas, April 6, 1897. 5 eggs. Nest of threads from palmetto leaves, hanging from limb of mesquite, 10 feet above ground in the open woods. Collector, Frank B. Armstrong.




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 Hooded Oriole. 504. Scott's Oriole. Icterus parisorum. Range.--Western Mexico north to the adjoining states; north to Nevada. Bluish white. This handsome black and yellow species does not appear to be abundant in any part of its range. Their nests are swung from the under side of leaves of the yucca palm or from small branches of low trees, and are made of grass and fibres. The eggs are bluish white, specked and blotched chiefly about the large end with blackish brown and lilac gray. Size .95 X .65. Data.--Chiricahua Mts., Arizona, June 5, 1900. Nest placed on the under side of a yucca palm leaf, being hung from the spines, about 4 feet from the ground. Altitude 7000 feet. Collector, O. W. Howard. 505. Sennett's Oriole. Icterus cucullatus sennetti. Range.--Mexico, north in summer to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. White. This species is orange yellow except for the face, throat, fore back, wings and tail, which are black; the wings are crossed by two white bars. These handsome birds are the most abundant of the Orioles on the Lower Rio Grande, where their pure mellow whistle is heard at frequent intervals throughout the day. They generally build their nests in hanging moss from mesquite trees, turning up at the ends and lining the pocket with moss, or else make a shallow hanging nest of fibres and suspend it from yuccas. During May or June they lay from three to five eggs of a white color, spotted (rarely lined) with purplish brown and gray. Size .85 × .60. 505a. Arizona Hooded Oriole. Icterus cucullatus nelsoni. Range.--Western Mexico; in summer north to southern Arizona, New Mexico and California. This variety is like the last but more yellowish. Their nests are made of a wiry grass compactly woven together and partially suspended to mistletoe twigs growing from cottonwood trees; nests of this type are perfectly distinct from those of the preceding, but when they are made of fibre and attached to yuccas, they cannot be distinguished from nests of the former variety. Their eggs are similar to those of the Hooded Oriole, but generally more strongly marked and usually with some zigzag lines. Size .85 × .60.
Page 321 Arizona Hooded Oriole. 506. Orchard Oriole. Icterus spurius. Range.--United States, east of the Plains, breeding from the Gulf to southern New England, and Canada in the interior. Winters beyond our borders. Bluish white. The adult male of this species is a rich chocolate brown and black, it requiring three years to attain this plumage. They nest commonly about habitations in their range, usually preferring orchard trees for sites. Their nests are skillfully woven baskets of fresh grasses, about as high as wide; they are generally placed in upright forks and well concealed by drooping leaves. They lay from four to six bluish white eggs, spotted and blotched with brown and lavender. Size .80 × .55. Data.--Avery's Island, La., May 10, 1896. Nest of grass, lined with thistledown; semi-pensile in drooping twigs of a willow. Collector, F. A. McIlhenny. Baltimore Oriole. 507. Baltimore Oriole. Icterus galbula. Range.--North America, east of the Rockies, breeding from southern United States north to New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. White. This beautiful and well known eastern Oriole can readily be identified by its orange flame color and entirely black head. Even better known than the birds, are the pensile nests which retain their positions on the swaying drooping branches all through the winter. Although they build in many other trees, elms seem to be their favorites. Their nests are made of plant fibres and frequently string, and often reach a length of about 10 inches and about half that in diameter; they are usually attached to drooping branches by the rim so that they rock to and fro, but are sometimes held more firmly in position by having their side bound to a branch. Their eggs, which are laid in May and June, are white, streaked and lined with blackish brown and grayish. Size .90 × .60.



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 Rusty Blackbird
Brewster's Blackbird. 508. Bullock's Oriole. Icterus bullocki. Range.--North America, west of the Plains and from British Columbia southward, wintering in Mexico. Bluish white. This handsome species is as abundant in the west as the Baltimore Oriole is in the east, and breeds throughout its United States range. Their nests are similarly made and in similar locations, and the eggs are hardly distinguishable from those of the preceding, but the ground color is generally of a pale bluish white tint and the markings are usually finer, the lines running around the eggs and often making a very handsome wreath about the large end. Size of eggs, .94 × .62. 509. Rusty Blackbird. Euphagus carolinus. Range.--North America east of the Plains, breeding from northern New England and the Adirondacks northward; winters in southern United States. Bluish green. But few of these birds breed within our borders, the majority of them passing on to the interior of Canada. They generally nest in pairs, or at the most three or four pairs in a locality, building their large substantial nests of moss, twigs and grass, lined with fine green grass; this structure is situated in bushes or low trees in swampy places and at from 3 to 20 feet from the ground. The eggs are laid in May or June; they vary from three to five in number, of a pale bluish green color, spotted, blotched and clouded with shades of brown and gray. Size .96 × .71. 510. Brewer's Blackbird. Euphagus cyanocephalus. Range.--North America west of the Plains, and from British Columbia and Saskatchewan southward. Dull white. This western representative of the preceding is of about the same size (10 inches long), but differs in having a purplish head and greenish black body. They nest abundantly throughout their range either in bushes or trees at low elevations or upon the ground; the nests are made of sticks, rootlets and grasses, lined with finer grass and moss, and the eggs, which are very variable, are dull whitish, clouded and blotched with brownish and streaked with blackish. Size 1.00 × .75.
Page 323 Purple Grackle.
Bronzed Grackle. 511. Purple Grackle. Quiscalus quiscula quiscula. Dull greenish white. Range.--Eastern United States from the Gulf to Massachusetts; winters along the Gulf. This species, which is commonly known as Crow Blackbird, nests in trees or bushes anywhere in its range, and on the coast frequently constructs its nests among the large sticks of Ospery nests. Large pines appear to be favorite sites for them to locate their large nests of twigs, weeds, grass and trash. They are placed at any elevation from nearly on the ground to 50 feet above it. The eggs range from three to five and are greenish white, splashed, spotted and scrawled with various shades of brown and gray, and with streaks of black. Size 1.10 × .80. The nesting habits and eggs of the sub-species of this Grackle do not differ in any particular. Like those of this variety the eggs show an endless number of patterns of markings. Grayish white. 511a. Florida Grackle. Quiscalus quiscula aglæus. Range.--South Atlantic and Gulf States. A smaller variety of the preceding; length about 11 inches. Eggs indistinguishable. 511b. Bronzed Grackle. Quiscalus quiscula æneus. Range.--North America east of the Rockies, breeding from the Gulf to Hudson Bay and Labrador. Winters in the southern parts of the United States. This is the most common and widely distributed of the Crow Blackbirds and is distinguished by the brassy color of the upper parts. 513. Boat-tailed Grackle. Megaquiscalus major major. Range.--South Atlantic and Gulf States; north to Virginia. Grayish white. This handsome bird measures about 16 inches in length, is iridescent with purplish and greenish, and has a very long, graduated and hollowed tail. These Grackles are very abundant residents along the Gulf, breeding in large colonies in swamps, placing their nests of weeds, moss, grasses, etc., in bushes, trees, canes or rushes, but a few inches above the water, while those in trees are sometimes 50 feet above the ground. The eggs are laid in March, April or May, are from three to five in number, and are a dull bluish or grayish white, streaked, lined, clouded and blotched with brown, black and gray; size 1.25 × .95.




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 Evening Grosbeak. 513a. Great-tailed Grackle. Megaquiscalus major macrourus. Range.--Mexico to southern and eastern Texas. Grayish white. This variety is larger than the last (length 18 inches) and the tail is very broad and flat. Like the former, they nest in bushes, rushes or trees at any elevation from the ground. The nests are built of the same materials and the eggs are similar to those of the Boat-tailed Grackle, but larger; size 1.28 × .88. FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. Family FRINGILLDÆ 514. Evening Grosbeak. Hesperiphona vespertina vespertina. Greenish white. Range.--Western United States in the Rocky Mountain region; north to Saskatchewan; south in winter to Mississippi Valley and casually east to New England and the intermediate states. Pine Grosbeak. These are dull and yellowish birds, shading to brownish on the head; with a bright yellow forehead and susperciliary line, black wings and tail, and white inner secondaries and greater coverts. They breed in the mountainous portions of their range, placing their flat nests of sticks and rootlets in low trees or bushes. The eggs are laid in May or June and are greenish white spotted and blotched with brown; size .90 × .65. 514a. Western Evening Grosbeak. Hesperiphona vespertina montana. Range.--Western United States, breeding in the mountains from New Mexico to British Columbia. The nesting habits and eggs of this variety are the same as those of the preceding, and the birds can rarely be separated. 515. Pine Grosbeak. Pinicola enucleator leucura. Range.--Eastern North America, breeding from northern New England northward, and wintering to southern New England and Ohio and casually farther.
Page 325 Purple Finch. They build in conifers making their nests of small twigs and rootlets, lined with fine grasses and lichens. During the latter part of May or June they lay three or four eggs, which have a ground color of light greenish blue, spotted and splashed with dark brown, and with fainter markings of lilac. Size 1.00 × .70. Pine Grosbeaks have been separated into the following sub-species, the chief distinction between them being in their ranges. The nesting habits and eggs of all are alike. Greenish blue. 515a. Rocky Mountain Pine Grosbeak. Pinicola enucleator montana. Range.--Rocky Mountain region from New Mexico to Montana. 515b. California Pine Grosbeak. Pinicola enucleator californica. Range.--Higher parts of the Sierra Nevadas in California. 515c. Alaska Pine Grosbeak. Pinicola enucleator alascensis. Range.--Interior of Northwest America from Alaska south to British Columbia. 515d. Kadiak Pine Grosbeak. Pinicola enucleator flammula. Range.--Kadiak Island and the southern coast of Alaska. 515b--517a. 516. Cassin's Bullfinch. Pyrrhula cassini. Range.--Northern Asia; accidental in Alaska. 517. Purple Finch. Carpodacus purpureus purpureus. Range.--North America east of the plains, breeding from the Middle States north to Labrador and Hudson Bay; winters in the United States. Greenish blue. These sweet songsters are quite abundant in New England in the summer, but more so north of our borders. While they breed sometimes in trees, in orchards, I have nearly always found their nests in evergreens, usually about three-fourths of the way up. The nests are made of fine weeds and grasses and lined with horse hair. The eggs, which are usually laid in June, are greenish blue, spotted with dark brownish; size .85 × .65. 517a. California Purple Finch. Carpodacus purpureus californicus. Range.--Pacific coast, breeding from central California to British Columbia and wintering throughout California. The nesting habits and eggs of this darker colored variety are just like those of the last.






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 518--519. 518. Cassin's Purple Finch. Carpodacus cassini. Range.--North America west of the Rockies, breeding from British Columbia south to New Mexico. Greenish blue. This species is similar to the last but the back, wings and tail are darker and the purplish color of the preceding species is replaced by a more pinkish shade. The nesting habits and eggs are the same as those of the eastern Purple Finch; size of eggs .85 × .60. Data.--Willis, New Mexico, June 23, 1901. Nest made of twigs and rootlets and lined with horse hair. Collector, F. J. Birtwell. 519. House Finch. Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis. Range.--United States west of the Plains and from Oregon and Wyoming to Mexico. Greenish blue. This is one of the best known of western birds, and nests commonly in all situations from trees and bushes to vines growing on porches. Their nests are made of rootlets and grasses and are lined with horse hair. Their nesting season includes all the summer months, they raising two and sometimes three broods a season. The three to five eggs are pale greenish blue with a few sharp blackish brown specks about the large end. Size .80 × .55. 519b. San Lucas House Finch. Carpodacus mexicanus ruberrimus. Range.--Southern Lower California. A slightly smaller variety of the preceding. 519c. San Clemente House Finch. Carpodacus mexicanus clematis. Range.--San Clemente and Santa Barbara Islands. Somewhat darker than the last. 520. Guadalupe Finch. Carpodacus amplus. Range.--Guadalupe Island, Lower California. Similar to the House Finch, but deeper red and slightly larger. Their nesting habits and eggs are precisely like those of the House Finch but the eggs average larger; size .85 × .60. 520.1. Mcgregor's House Finch. Carpodacus mcgregori. Range.--San Benito Island, Lower California. A newly made species, hardly to be distinguished from the last. Eggs probably the same.