Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/162

* BLACK BESS. 136 BLACKBUCK. fore he voluntarily went into Fleet Prison, in a song beginning; ••Bold Turpin vunce, on Hounelow Heath. His bold mare Bess bestrode-er. " BLACKBIRD. Any of several different birds prevailingly blaek in plumage; in America, a member of the family loteridae. About a dozen species dwell in the United States. They agree in the possession of a rather long and slender beak, with cutting edges, and have only nine primaries in the wing; but arc distinguished from each other by size and color. The males, when in full plumage, are always more strikingly colored than the females, and generally the con- trast is very great. In most of the species the female is not black at all, and the young re- semble her. The largest of the American black- birds are those known as crow-blackbirds — or, HEAD AND FOOT OF A TYPICAL BLACKBIRD. more properly, grakles (q.v.) — one species of which reaches a length of 18 inches, but is not so heavy as a crow. The other blackbirds are much smaller — less than a foot in length — and are distinguished from each other chiefly by color. In the eastern United States we have only the cowbird (q.v.) and the red-winged blackbird {Agelaius phwiticeus) . the former uni- form lustrous black, with a brown head, and the latter jet-black, with a scarlet patch on each 'shoulder.' (See Redwing.) In the middle West, besides the Eastern species, there occurs the handsome yellow-headed blackbird iXantho- cejihalus xanthorrplwlus). in which the whole head and throat is yellow, or even orange. The Pacific Coast has also the red and white shoiil- ilered blackbird (Agelaius tficolor), which is bluish-black, with a dark blood-red jjatch on the wing, bordered with ])ure white. -All of these species, except the cowbirds, frequent marshy grounds or swamps to breed, and often gather in large flocks, the more especially during the mi- grations. They feed on almost everything in the insect or vegetable line ; but though they sometimes damage corn-fields, they are beyond question beneficial. The nests are built on or near the ground in the swamps, among reeds or small bushes, and are composed chiefly of dried grass and reeds. The eggs are pale-blue or gray- ish-green, scrawled or spotted with brown. In the Western States the lark-liunting iCii- lamospiza melanocorys) is sometimes called the white-winged blackbird, while in the Kast the bobolink is frequently called the skunk blackbird, on account of its peculiar markings ; and in Florida and the West Indies the ani is commonly termed savanna blackbird. In Europe the name blackbird is given to an entirely different bird, the merle, a thrush iMcruUi meriila). It occurs throughout Europe, in North Africa, and in the Azores. The male is deep black, while the female and young are rusty brown. Like the other thrushes, the merle is chiefly insectivorous, though it often eats fruit, and is a fine singer, although the notes are somewhat too loud to make it an ac- ceptable cage-bird. See Plates of Blackbibds and of Eggs of Soxg-Birds. BLACK BOOK. The designation of various historical and other works, so called from the character of their type or their binding or con- tents. Among the more popularly known are; A university register, in which students' mis- demeanors are recorded; any volume treating of necromancy or the 'black art'; and, in tircat Britain, the list of liabitual criminals published since 1877. The most important historical black books are: The volume formerly attributed to (iervaise of Tilbury, but now known to be the compilation of Nigel, Bishop of Ely (died 1160). giving a detailed description of the Court of Exchequer, its otticers, their duties and privi- leges, etc.. also of the revenues of the Crown : a book of admiralty statutes and ordinances of the reign of Edward III., first edited by Sir Travers Twiss (4 vols.. London, 1871-7(>) ; and a series of reports compiled by order of the visitors to the English monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII. Their presentation to Parliament in 1530 was followed by the suppression of those insti- tutions. These reports probably never formed a bound volume, although one is fabled to have been burned by order of Queen JIarv. The reports still in existence are considered by recent his- torians to be extravagant and malicious in their statements. Consult Gairdner, editor, Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VII J. (Lon- don, 1880-861. BLACKBREAST. Either of two American bay-birds. (1) The black-bellie<l plover {('liiira- drius s(iuatarola) . (2) The dunlin (Tringa al- pina) ; also called blackheart. BLACK BRXJNSWICKERS, or The Deatii's- Hkai) Coiil'.s. A troop cif liussiirs. organized in (icrniany by Frederick William, Duke of Bruns- wick, in May, 1809, during the Napoleonic wars. Their uniform was jet-black, and ornamented with lace in imitation of the ribs of a skeleton. Their helmets were adorned with silver skulls and crossbones, and with black horsehair tresses in- stead of plumes. BLACKBUCK (so named from its blackish- brown color; AS. bticca, he-goat, buc, a male deer, OHG. boch. Ger. BocJc, he-goat). The common antelope of India (.tH^i7o/)c ccrricapra). which ranges over the whole of the jjeninsula and As- sam, wherever there are open plains. A male blackbuck stands about .32 inches high at the shoulders, and will weigh, alive, about 85 pounds. The horns usually run from 16 to 20 inches in length, but may reach 28 inches. They arise close together, and are cylindrical and ringed, with an elegant spiral twist of from three to four turns. Tlie does are hornless, as ;i rule. Old males are among the handsomest of all antelopes, the contrast of the full blackish-brown of the greater part of the head, body, and outer sides of the limbs with the white of the under parts and the ring around the eye being most striking. Young bucks, and the does of all ages, are rich yellowish-brown, rendering them less cons])icuous to their enemies. These pretty little antelopes are always found either in open ground, wild, grassy plains, or cultivated tracts, and go in herds, sometimes reaching hundreds,