-2- 
     
    
   
   
    
     All the blackbirds mentioned in this paper, with the exceptinn at 
     
     one are recent arrivals on Prince Edward Island. The Rusty 
     
     Blackbird was apparently more common previously than at present. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Notes used by the author in preparing this paper were made between 
     
     1950 and 1968. Migration dates are primarily from the Mount 
     
     Stewart area. The author's father, the late Lane Pigot, provided 
     
     early information on Bronzed Grackles in the vicinity of Mount 
     
     Stewart. Status assigned for each species follows the New York 
     
     State Standards of Abundance, Frequency and Seasonal Occurrence. 
     
    
   
   
    
     No attempt was made to survey literature for the historical occur— 
     
     rence of these species on Prince Edward Island. For this, the 
     
     reader is referred to Godfrey, W.E., Birds of P.E.I. (1954 
     
     National Museum of Canada Bulletin 1337? also, gagadian Field 
     
     Naturalist Vol. 1, (p. 60 and p. 62) and Vol. 78, No. 2, p. 125. 
     
    
   
   
    
     If readers have unrecorded notes of the early historical occur- 
     
     rence of these Species, they should publish them. 
     
    
   
   
    
     RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 
     
    
   
   
    
     It is a common regular summer resident and an abundant breeder 
     
     locally. Early dates of arrival for this bird for 13 years are 
     
     March 23 to April 9. Late dates of departure for seven years 
     
     are Oct. 7 to Nov. 11. A male that was feeding on grain in one 
     
     of the author's buildings open to the south was collected on 
     
     December 31, 1959. Young birds were first noted in nests on 
     
     June 6. 
     
    
   
   
    
     This bird's early occurrence on Prince Edward Island is poorly 
     
     documented. Except for J. Frank Sterns' 1933 note which occurs 
     
    
   
   
    
     in Hurst's 1934 list -— "Summer Resident common around East 
     
    

    
     Lake in 1908, never seen now" —- records are only of a few pairs. 
     
     The first record of any numbers of this bird is in Hurst's Newsy 
     
     Notes, Guardian, l949~50: "Local, not rare, 1949“. 
     
    

    
     The author's own records date from 1950, in which year it Wnfi 
     
     locally common in the marshes at Mount Stewart. Twenty~sin‘wera 
     
    
   
   
    
     observed on May 7, and a flock of 60 on October 7. 
     
    
   
   
    
     BRONZED (COMMON) GRACKLE 
     
    
   
   
    
     This is an abundant regular summer resident and an abundant 
     
     breeder locally. Early arrival dates for eleven years for this 
     
     bird are March 18 to April 6. Late departure dates for five years 
     
     are October 10 to October 30. This bird forms nesting colcnies 
     
    

    
     in woodlots and hedges near human habitation, favoring those near 
     
     farming operations. Egg dates for 24 nests are April 30 to 
     
    

    
     May 31. The young were first noted in nests on May 16. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Grackle is occasionally seen in December, January and Feb- 
     
     ruary. Two injured birds were collected, one on January 19, 
     
     1959 and one on January 16, 1965. Their injuries probably pre- 
     
     vented these birds from migrating. On the other hand, one was 
     
     collected On December 25, 1955 that was active and well fleshed 
     
     and appeared in no way handicapped.