Part 24

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 phoeniceus phoeniceus. 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. 9-1/2.

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. 10-3/4.

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