511. Quiscalus quiscula. 12 inches.

Male with purple head and greenish back; female brownish gray. All the Grackles are very similar in appearance, the colors varying with different individuals of the same species. Their habits are alike, too. and I consider them one of the most destructive of our birds.

Notes. - A harsh "tchack," and a squeaky song.

Nest. - Of sticks and twigs, usually in pines in the North and bushes in the South. Four eggs, pale bluish gray with black scrawls (1.10 x .80).

Range. - Eastern U. S., breeding north to Mass.

Sub-Species. - 511a. Florida Grackle (aglseus), slightly smaller. 511b. Bronzed Grackle (aeneus. with a purple head and usually a brassy hack. Eastern U. S., breeding north to Labrador and Manitoba.