The specific*)name o# this: bird-,(guiscala)..has been changed, in
consequent ^»Its|haying- ■ -been - applied- to the - genus: we have
substituted-the name given,by ^iea-Uoty/which us admirably appropriate.
The English rnamei employed by-Wilson being now rendered
Madanissiblehy-the generic change/we-have thought proper to Mfffr
a local appellation.'
The female GommonrCrow-Blackbird is? eleven tinehes an length,
and. sixteen and a half* iniexfent: The bill is nearly an inch and a
half long; andy as welLas the feet, black-the iridds are yellowish-
white j 'the whole hcM^ neck, and tipper, part dfrt-he breast/ kre
blackish,, with steel-bhie, green and ivaolet^eflections, which? are
not so- vivid- as .in.-the-'malehtiThe- general heoldur -of the body,
wings, and tail, is deep .sooty-brown; the feathers of,-the back are
margined, with coppery and purplish; the rump, tail coverts, and
wing covert-sy are gldssed-with purplish; rbhjs lower part of the breast
and flanks have - a coppery‘reflection; thee inferior tail coverts are
obscurely ^glossed witht violet. 'The-tajl^is- cuneiform, but slightly
pondavc in flight, and is five inches'long,- extending-two and a half
inches beyond the tip of the wings,; the feathers are glossed with
very obscure greenisji.. In the- male the tail is also ouneifqrm,
and greatly concave,«exhibiting a singular boat-shaped appearance,
as *in the «preceding species, -and even more remarkably ««> according
^ Mr. Ord, which induce«! him to change the name. •,
We shall not attempt to make any additions to the almost complete,
and very excellent history of this species, given by Wilson: but as
the four species of Quiscalus are liable’to be confounded, we shall
proceed to . give a: few comparative ^observations, that the student
may-be-enabled'to:distinguish them frompeach bther.
Amongst other remarkable traits, the Quiscalus ferruginous is at
once known in all its various states,,by its even tail, and compai'a-
tively smaller bill, which somewhat resembles that of a Thrush. In
addition to the characters drawn from its dimensions, the Quiscalus
versicolor can always be distinguished from its congeners, by the