. Key to North American birds; containing a concise account of every species of living and fossil bird at present known from the continent north of the Mexican and United States boundary. Illustrated by 6 steel plates and upwards of 250 woodcuts. Birds. 154 ICTERIDiE, AMERICAN STARLINGS. GEN. 87. gnishes them from all our other families whatsoever ; but the distinctions from the Fringillidce are not easil}' expressed. In fact, I know of no character that, for example, will relegate the bobolink and cowbird to the Icteridce rather than to the Fringillidce, in the current acceptation of these te
. Key to North American birds; containing a concise account of every species of living and fossil bird at present known from the continent north of the Mexican and United States boundary. Illustrated by 6 steel plates and upwards of 250 woodcuts. Birds. 154 ICTERIDiE, AMERICAN STARLINGS. GEN. 87. gnishes them from all our other families whatsoever ; but the distinctions from the Fringillidce are not easil}' expressed. In fact, I know of no character that, for example, will relegate the bobolink and cowbird to the Icteridce rather than to the Fringillidce, in the current acceptation of these terms. In general, however, the Icteridce are distinguished bj' the length, acuteness and not strictly conical shape of the unnotched, unbristled bill, that shows a peculiar extension of the culmen on the forehead, dividing the prominent antiffi (p. 29, § 62) of close-set, velvety feathers that reach to or on the nasal scale. Among our comparatively few species are representatives of each of the three subfamilies into which the group is conveniently and probably naturally divisible. In most of them, black is predominant, either uniform and of intense metallic lustre, or contrasted with masses of red or j'cllow. In nearly all, the sexes are conspic- uously dissimilar, the female being smaller, and plain brownish or streaky in the iridescent black species, olivaceous or yellowish in the brilliantly colored ones. All are migratory in this country. Sithfcmiily AGELjEIN^. Marsh Blackbirds. Gregarious, gi-anivorous species, more or less completely terrestrial, and chiefly palustrine, not ordinarily conspicuous vocalists, building rather rude, not pensile, nests, laying 4-6 spotted or curiously limned eggs. With the feet strong, fitted both for walking and for grasping swaying reeds, the wings more or less pointed, equalling or exceeding the tail in length, the bill conic-acute, shorter or little longer than the head, its cutting edges more or less inflected. *** In gen. 87, 91, the ta
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1872
