First come the Blackbirds clatt'rin in tall trees,
And settlin' things in windy congresses,
Queer politicians though, for I'll be skinned
If all on 'em don't head against the wind.
--LOWELL.
By the more familiar name of Crow Blackbird this fine but unpopular bird
is known, unpopular among the farmers for his depredations in their
cornfields, though the good he does in ridding the soil, even at the
harvest season, of noxious insects and grubs should be set down to his
credit.
The Bronzed Grackle or Western Crow Blackbird, is a common species
everywhere in its range, from the Alleghenies and New England north to
Hudson Bay, and west to the Rocky Mountains. It begins nesting in
favorable seasons as early as the middle of March, and by the latter
part of April many of the nests are finished. It nests anywhere in trees
or bushes or boughs, or in hollow limbs or stumps at any height. A clump
of evergreen trees in a lonely spot is a favorite site, in sycamore
groves along streams, and in oak woodlands. It is by no means unusual to
see in the same tree several nests, some saddled on horizontal branches,
others built in large forks, and others again in holes, either natural
or those made by the Flicker. A long list of nesting sites might be
given, including Martin-houses, the sides of Fish Hawk's nests, and in
church spires, where the Blackbirds' "clatterin'" is drowned by the
tolling bell.
The nest is a coarse, bulky affair, composed of grasses, knotty roots
mixed with mud, and lined with fine dry grass, horse hair, or sheep's
wool. The eggs are light greenish or smoky blue, with irregular lines,
dots and blotches distributed over the surface. The eggs average four to
six, though nests have been found containing seven.
The Bronze Grackle is a bird of many accomplishments. He does not hop
like the ordinary bird, but imitates the Crow in his stately walk, says
one who has watched him with interest. He can pick beech nuts, catch
cray fish without getting nipped, and fish for minnows alongside of
any ten-year-old. While he is flying straight ahead you do not notice
anything unusual, but as soon as he turns or wants to alight you see his
tail change from the horizontal to the vertical--into a rudder. Hence he
is called keel-tailed.
The Grackle is as omnivorous as the Crow or Blue Jay, without their
sense of humor, and whenever opportunity offers will attack and eat
smaller birds, especially the defenseless young. His own meet with the
like fate, a fox squirrel having been seen to emerge from a hole in a
large dead tree with a young Blackbird in its mouth. The Squirrel was
attacked by a number of Blackbirds, who were greatly excited, but it
paid no attention to their demonstrations and scampered off into the
wood with his prey. Of their quarrels with Robins and other birds much
might be written. Those who wish to investigate their remarkable habits
will do well to read the acute and elaborate observations of Mr. Lyndes
Jones, in a recent Bulletin of Oberlin College. He has studied for
several seasons the remarkable Bronze Grackle roost on the college
campus at that place, where thousands of these birds congregate from
year to year, and, though more or less offensive to some of the
inhabitants, add considerably to the attractiveness of the university
town.