Plate XCIX. Male and Female. Plate CCCCXXIV. Fig. 4. Young.
Male with the head and neck sooty-brown, the body black, glossed with
green, the fore part of the back with blue. Female considerably
smaller, greyish-brown, the lower parts lighter. Young with the upper
parts greyish-brown, the quills and tail darker; wing-coverts and
secondary quills narrowly edged with light brown, primaries with
whitish; lower parts dull yellowish-white, the sides marked with a
series of dark brown pointed spots.
_Male_, 7, 11-1/2.
Dispersed from Texas northward to Lat. 68°, and throughout the United
States. Great numbers winter in the Southern States.
Cow Bunting, Emberiza pecoris, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. ii. p. 145.
Icterus pecoris, Bonap. Syn. p. 53.
Molothrus pecoris, Cow-pen or Cuckoo Bunt, Swains. & Rich. F.
Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 277.
Cow Troopial, or Cow Blackbird, Icterus pecoris, Nutt. Man. v.
i. p. 178.
Cow-pen Bird, Icterus pecoris, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 493;
v. v. p. 233, 490.
GENUS III. AGELAIUS, Swains. MARSH-BLACKBIRD.
Bill shorter than the head, stout, straight, conical, tapering to an
acute point; upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, slightly
convex at the base, the ridge flattened toward the base, where it
forms a short tapering process on the forehead, the sides rounded, the
edges inflected, the tip a little depressed; lower mandible with the
angle short and wide, the sides convex at the base, toward the end
rounded, the edges involute, the tip acute; the gape-line ascending at
the base, afterwards direct. Nostrils basal, oval, with a small
operculum. Head ovate, of moderate size; neck short; body moderately
stout. Feet of ordinary length, rather stout; tarsus compressed, with
seven anterior scutella; toes rather large, the first much stronger,
the outer a little shorter than the inner, and adherent at the base.
Claws long, little arched, compressed, laterally grooved, very acute.
Plumage soft and blended, glossy in the males. Wings of moderate
length, with the outer four quills nearly equal. Tail rather long,
rounded. Roof of the upper mandible with three longitudinal ridges;
tongue tapering to a horny, flattened, slightly emarginate tip;
œsophagus wide, considerably dilated about the middle; stomach
roundish, muscular; intestine short and of moderate width; cœca
very small, cloaca oblong.
213. 1. Agelaius xanthocephalus, Bonap. Saffron-headed
Marsh-Blackbird.
Plate CCCLXXXVIII. Fig. 2. Male. Fig. 3. Female. Fig. 4.
Young.
Male with the head, upper part of hind neck, sides of the neck, its
fore part, and a portion of the breast, orange-yellow, the throat
paler; feathers along the base of the bill, loral space, a band below
the eye, and a narrower one above it, black; the rest of the plumage
glossy black, excepting two bands on the outer part of the wing,
formed by some of the smaller coverts, and the primary coverts, which
are white. Female much smaller, of a uniform chocolate-brown, with the
edges of the feathers paler, the feathers at the base of the upper
mandible, a band over the eye, and the fore part of the neck light
yellow, the throat dull white, and the feathers on the middle of the
breast margined with white toward the end. Young similar to the
female, but without yellow on the fore neck.
_Male_, 9; wing, 5-10/12.
Western Plains, California, and Fur Countries. Abundant. Migratory.
Yellow-headed Troopial, Icterus icterocephalus, Bonap. Amer.
Orn. v. i. p. 27.
Icterus xanthocephalus, Bonap. Syn. p. 52.
Agelaius xanthocephalus, Saffron-headed Maize-Bird, Swains. &
Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 281.
Yellow-headed Troopial, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 176.
Yellow-headed Troopial, Icterus xanthocephalus, Aud. Orn.
Biog. v. v. p. 6.
214. 2. Agelaius tricolor, Aud. Red-and-white-shouldered
Marsh-Blackbird.
Plate CCCLXXXVIII. Fig. 1. Male.
Tail almost even. Male with the plumage glossy bluish-black; the
smaller wing-coverts deep carmine, their first or posterior row white.
Bill considerably longer than in the two following species.
_Male_, 9; wing, 5.
North California. Abundant. Migratory.
Red-and-white-winged Troopial, Icterus tricolor, Aud. Orn.
Biog. v. v. p. 1.
215. 3. Agelaius Gubernator, Wagler. Red-and-black-shouldered
Marsh-Blackbird.
Plate CCCCXX. Male and Female.
Tail slightly rounded. Male with the plumage glossy bluish-black; the
smaller wing-coverts carmine scarlet, their first or posterior row
tinged with yellow, and broadly tipped with black. Female much
smaller, with the upper parts dark brown, the feathers edged with
light brown; some of the smaller wing-coverts edged with dull scarlet,
the first row with brownish-white; the larger coverts, quills, and
tail-feathers, blackish-brown, edged with dull reddish-brown; lower
parts longitudinally streaked with dusky and whitish, the fore neck
strongly tinged with dull carmine.
_Male_, 9; wing, 5-7/12.
California.
Psarocolius Gubernator, Wagler, Syst. Avium.
Crimson-winged Troopial, Icterus Gubernator, Aud. Orn. Biog.
v. v. p. 211.
216. 4. Agelaius phœniceus, Linn. Red-and-yellow-shouldered
Marsh-Blackbird.--Red-winged Starling.
Plate LXVII. Male, Female, and Young.
Tail considerably rounded. Male with the plumage glossy black, the
smaller wing-coverts scarlet, their first or posterior row
buff-coloured, at the tip whitish. Female much smaller, with the upper
parts dark brown, the feathers edged with light brown; some of the
smaller wing-coverts tinged with red; wings and tail blackish-brown,
the feathers margined with brownish-red, the first row of small
coverts and secondary coverts narrowly tipped with whitish; a
yellowish-brown band over the eye; lower parts longitudinally streaked
with dusky and whitish, the fore neck strongly tinged with dull
carmine. Young similar to the female, but without red on the small
wing-coverts or throat, the latter part with the sides of the head
being pale yellowish-brown.
_Male_, 9, 14. _Female_, 7-1/2.
Breeds from Texas throughout the United States, and northward to the
Saskatchewan. Vast numbers spend the winter in the Southern and
Western States.
Red-winged Starling, Sturnus prædatorius, Wils. Amer. Orn. v.
iv. p. 30.
Icterus phœniceus, Bonap. Syn. p. 52.
Agelaius phœniceus, Red-winged Maize-bird, Swains. & Rich.
F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 280.
Red-winged Blackbird, Icterus phœniceus, Nutt. Man. v. i.
p. 169.
Red-winged Starling or Marsh-Blackbird, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i.
p. 348; v. v. p. 487.
GENUS IV. ICTERUS, Briss. HANGNEST.
Bill a little shorter than the head, conical, very slightly decurved,
compressed, tapering to a very attenuated point; upper mandible with
the dorsal line almost straight, being very slightly convex, the ridge
indistinct, narrowed at the base; the sides convex, the edges
overlapping, the tip extremely sharp; gape-line ascending at the base,
afterwards direct; lower mandible with the angle long and of moderate
width, the dorsal line and that of the crura slightly concave, the
sides erect at the base, convex towards the end, the edges slightly
inflected, the tip extremely slender. Nostrils basal, elliptical, with
a small operculum. Head ovate, of moderate size; neck short; body
rather slender. Feet of moderate length, rather stout; tarsus much
compressed, with seven anterior scutella; toes of moderate size, the
hind toe much stronger, the lateral about equal, the third and fourth
united at the base. Claws rather long, moderately arched, much
compressed, laterally grooved, very acute. Plumage soft and blended.
Wings of moderate length, with the outer four quills nearly equal.
Tail of moderate length, rounded and slightly emarginate. Roof of the
upper mandible with a broad median ridge, somewhat prominent at the
base; tongue tapering to a deeply slit point; œsophagus wide,
considerably dilated about the middle; stomach elliptical; intestine
short, and of moderate width; cœca very small; cloaca globular.