Many pairs were seen May 16 and June 2 and 16, 1877, though no nests
were found. — (E. cornuta, Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 486. — E. alpestris chry-
solcema, Sennett, B. Rio Grande, 9.)
84. Molothrus ater, (Bodd.)
Very common during winter, arriving early in September and leaving in April. The males frequent the stables and picket-lines in large flocks, with three or four other species of Blackbirds : the females are much less common. — (M. pecoris, Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 492.)
85. * Molothrus ater var. obscurus, (Gmel.)
Common during summer, replacing var. pecoris when it leaves. I have found the eggs or young in nests of Pyrocephalns var. mexicanus, Vireo noveboracensiSj Icteria virenSj Amphispiza bilineata, Embernagra rufivir- gata, Icterus cucullatus, I. var. affinis, and Agelwus phceniceus.[1] Fifteen eggs now before me average .78 by .61, which is considerably larger than the measurements given by Dr. Brewer.[2] — (M. ater obscurus, Sennett, B. Rio Grande, 22.)
86. * Molothrus aeneus, (Wagl.) — The Red-eyed Cowbird.
Psarocolim ceneus, Wagl., Isis, 1829, 758.— Bonap., Consp. I, 1850, 426. Molothrus wneusj Caban., Mus. Hein. I, 1851, 192.— Scl., P. Z. S. 1856, 300; 1859, 365 (Jalapa),381 (Oaxaca); Catal. 1861, 135, No. 819 (Jalapa;.— Scl. & Salv., Ibis, 1860, 34 ; Nom. Neotr. 1873, 37.— Owen, Ibis, 1861, 61 (Guatemala; descr. eggs).— Cass., Pr. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phil. 1866, 18 (Mazatlan, ManzaDillo, and Jalapa, Mexico; Yucatan; Nicaragua: Costa Rica ; Panama).— Stjmichr., Mem. Bost. Soc. I, 1869, 552 (Vera Cruz; hot and temperate regions. Vulg. : " Tongonito" ; "Enmante- cado")— Salvin, P. Z. S. 1870, 191 (Chitra and Calobre, Veragua).— Lawr., Ann. Lye. N. Y. IX, 1868,104 (Costa Rica); Mem. Bost. Soc. II, 1874, 281 (Mazatlan, Manzanillo Bay, and Mts. of Colima, W. Mexico. Habits) ; Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 4, 1876, 24 (Tapana, Isth. Tehuantepec; April.— "Iris red"). — Merrill, Bull. Nutt. Orn, Club, I, Nov. 1876, 88 (Ft. Brown, Texas ; very abundant) ; ib. II, Oct. 1877, 85 (habits; descr. of eggs and young. — "Iris blood-red" in adult; brown in young). — Coues & Sennett, Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geog. Surv.Terr. Feb. 1878, 23 (Fort Brown, Tex.— Syn.,diag., remarks). Molothrus robustus, Caban., Mus. Hein. I, 1851, 193 ; J. f. O. 1861, 81. j3. armenli.
Molothrus armentij Caban., Mus. Hein. I, 1851, 192; J. f. O. 1861, 82.— Cass., P. A. N. S. March, 1866, 18 (Demarara; Savanilla, New Granada).
- ↑ On June 13, 1877, I found an egg of this variety in a nest of Amphispiza bilineata that contained three young and two addled eggs. The Cowbird's egg was cracked almost entirely across the middle, and in it was one of the addled Sparrow's eggs. This must have been done by some idle Mexican.
- ↑ Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, North American Birds, ii, 157.
