The above characteristics will readily distinguish the genus from its allies. The form is much like that of Agelaius. The bill, however, is more attenuated, the culmen curved and slightly sinuated. The bend at the base of the commissure is shorter. The culmen is angular at the base posterior to the nostrils, instead of being much flattened, and does not extend so far behind. The two North American species may be distinguished as follows:—
S. ferrugineus. Bill slender; height at base not .4 the total length. Color of male black, with faint purple reflection over whole body; wings, tail, and abdomen glossed slightly with green. Autumnal specimens with feathers broadly edged with castaneous rusty. Female brownish dusky slate, without gloss; no trace of light superciliary stripe.
S. cyanocephalus. Bill stout; height at base nearly .5 the total length. Color black, with green reflections over whole body. Head only glossed with purple. Autumnal specimens, feathers edged very indistinctly with umber-brown. Female dusky-brown, with a soft gloss; a decided light superciliary stripe.
Cuba possesses a species referred to this genus (S. atroviolaceus), though it is not strictly congeneric with the two North American ones. It differs in lacking any distinct membrane above the nostril, and in having the bill not compressed laterally, as well as in being much stouter. The plumage has a soft silky lustre; the general color black, with rich purple or violet lustre. The female similarly colored to the male.
Scolecophagus ferrugineus, Swainson.
RUSTY BLACKBIRD.
Oriolus ferrugineus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 393, No. 43.—Lath. Ind. I, 1790, 176. Gracula ferruginea, Wilson, Am. Orn. III, 1811, 41, pl. xxi, f. 3. Quiscalus ferrugineus, Bon. Obs. Wils. 1824, No. 46.—Nuttall, Man. I, 1832, 199.—Aud. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 315; V, 1839, 483, pl. cxlvii.—Ib. Synopsis, 1839, 146.—Ib. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 65, pl. ccxxii.—Max. Caban. J. VI, 1858, 204. Scolecophagus ferrugineus, Swainson, F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831, 286.—Bon. List, 1838.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 551.—Coues, P. A. N. S. 1861, 225.—Cass. P. A. N. S. 1866, 412.—Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, 285 (Alaska). ? ? Oriolus niger, Gmelin, I, 1788, 393, Nos. 4, 5 (perhaps Quiscalus).—Samuels, 350.—Allen, B. E. Fla. 291. Scolecophagus niger, Bonap. Consp. 1850, 423.—Cabanis, Mus. Hein. 1851, 195. ? ? Oriolus fuscus, Gmelin, Syst. I, 1788, 393, No. 44 (perhaps Molothrus). Turdus hudsonius, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 818.—Lath. Ind. Turdus noveboracensis, Gmelin, I, 1788, 818. Turdus labradorius, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 832.—Lath. Ind. I, 1790, 342 (labradorus). “Pendulinus ater, Vieillot, Nouv. Dict.” Chalcophanes virescens, Wagler, Syst. Av. (Appendix, Oriolus 9). ? Turdus No. 22 from Severn River, Forster Phil. Trans. LXII, 1772, 400.
Sp. Char. Bill slender; shorter than the head; about equal to the hind toe; its height not quite two fifths the total length. Wing nearly an inch longer than the tail; second quill longest; first a little shorter than the fourth. Tail slightly graduated; the lateral feathers about a quarter of an inch shortest. General color black, with purple reflections; the wings, under tail-coverts, and hinder part of the belly, glossed with green. In autumn the feathers largely edged with ferruginous or brownish, so as to change the appearance entirely. Spring female dull, opaque plumbeous or ashy-black; the wings and tail sometimes with a green lustre. Young like autumnal birds. Length of male, 9.50; wing, 4.75; tail, 4.00. Female smaller.
Hab. From Atlantic coast to the Missouri. North to Arctic regions. In Alaska on the Yukon, at Fort Kenai, and Nulato.