Chapter XIII: Section IV: Crown rufous; body above, olive-green (4)

[41] _Icterus melanocephalus_, GRAY. _Psarocolius
melanocephalus_, WAGLER, Isis, 1829, 756. _Icterus
melanocephalus_, GRAY, Genera.—SCLATER, Pr. Zoöl. Soc.
1858, 97.—CASSIN, Pr. A. N. S. 1867, 53.—BAIRD, Birds N.
Am. 1858, 543. _Xanthornus melanocephalus_, BON. Consp.
1850, 434 (description of young only). _? Icterus
graduacauda_, LESSON, Rev. Zoöl. 1839, 105.

SP. CHAR. Similar to _I. auduboni_, but without any white
whatever on the wing. Head and neck all round, wings,
scapulars, and tail, uniform pure black. Rest of body,
including inside of wing and tibia and the lesser
wing-coverts, orange-yellow; clouded with olivaceous-green
on the back, less so on the rump. Bill and legs plumbeous,
the former whitish at base. Length, 7.70; wing, 3.75; tail,
4.80. _Hab._ Warm parts of Mexico.

Very like the _auduboni_, but smaller, the bill much
stouter, shorter, and the culmen more curved. The third
quill is longest; the fourth, fifth, and second successively
a little shorter; the first and seventh about equal. The
black of the head and neck comes farther behind and on the
sides than in _auduboni_. The wings are totally destitute of
the white edges of quills and coverts as seen in _auduboni_,
and the middle coverts are black instead of pure yellow. The
tail, too, is entirely black.

Icterus parisorum, BONAP.

SCOTT’S ORIOLE.

_Icterus parisorum_, (“BON. Acad. Bonon. 1836.”)—BP. Pr. Zoöl. Soc.
V, 1837, 109.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 544, pl. lvii, f. 1;
Mex. B. II, Birds, 19, pl. xix, f. 1.—CASSIN, Pr. 1867,
54.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 276. _Xanthornus parisorum_,
IB. Conspectus, 1850, 434. _Icterus melanochrysura_, LESSON,
Rev. Zoöl. 1839, 105.—_Icterus scotti_, COUCH, Pr. A. N. Sc.
Phil. VII, April, 1854, 66 (Coahuila).

SP. CHAR. Bill attenuated; not much decurved; tail moderately graduated. Head and neck all round, breast, interscapular region, wings, and tail, black. Under parts generally, hinder part of back to the tail, middle and lesser upper, and whole of lower wing-coverts, and base of the tail-feathers, gamboge-yellow; a band across the ends of the greater coverts, with the edges of the inner secondaries and tertiaries, white. Length, 8.25; extent, 11.75; wing, 4.00; tail, 3.75; tarsus, .95.

_Female._ Olivaceous above, the back with obsolete dusky streaks; rump and under parts yellowish, clouded with gray. Tail brownish-olive on upper surface, more yellow beneath; wings with two white bands.

HAB. Valley of the Rio Grande; south to Guatemala. In Texas, found on the Pecos. Cape St. Lucas. Oaxaca, winter (SCL. 1858, 303); Orizaba (SCL. 1860, 251); Vera Cruz, temp. and alpine (SUM. M. B. S. I, 553).

The bill is slender and attenuated, very little decurved, much less so than in _I. cucullatus_, slenderer and a little more decurved than in _I. baltimore_. The tail is moderately graduated, the outer feather .45 of an inch less than the middle.

In this species the black feathers of the neck, except below, have a subterminal bar of yellow; elsewhere it is wanting. The black of the breast comes a little posterior to the anterior extremity of the folded wing. The posterior feathers in the yellow patch on the shoulders are tinged with white. The white in the bar across the ends of the greater coverts is confined mainly to the terminal quarter of an inch of the outer web. In the full plumage, there is only a faint trace of white on the edges of the primaries. The yellow of the base of the tail only extends on the middle feather as far as the end of the upper tail-coverts; on the three outer, it reaches to within an inch and a quarter of the end of the tail.

An immature male has the yellow more tinged with green, the black feathers of the head and back olivaceous with a black spot.

Specimens vary much in size; the more northern being the larger.

_Icterus wagleri_[42] is an allied species found just south of the Rio Grande by Lieutenant Couch, but not yet detected within our limits.

HABITS. Notwithstanding the apparent abundance of the species at Cape St. Lucas, and also in Northern Mexico along our entire border, as far as New Mexico and Texas, our knowledge of its history still remains quite incomplete. A single specimen was obtained in Western Texas on the Pecos River, by Captain Pope, in 1856. Others were obtained by Lieutenant Couch, April, 1853, at Santa Catarina, in Mexico. They were first seen by him in the vicinity of Monterey. They were found to be generally of secluded habits. Their song, consisting of three or four notes, is said to be both rich and melodious.

In the State of Vera Cruz, this species is given by Sumichrast as occurring in both the temperate and the alpine regions. Its common name is _Calandria india_. They are said by him to occur chiefly in the temperate parts, where they breed, but not to be exclusively confined there, for they are also found in the alpine region to the height of at least five thousand feet, near Orizaba, and on the plateau at even a higher elevation. Dr. Cooper saw a bird at Fort Mohave, in April, which he supposed to be this bird, but he was not able to assure himself of the fact, by obtaining it.

Mr. Xantus found this species very abundant during his stay at Cape St. Lucas, and procured a number of specimens of the birds and of their nests and eggs. From his brief notes we gather that the nests are open, and are not pensile. One, found May 22, was built in a bunch of moss hanging down from an old cactus. Another was made in a bunch of hops, suspended from a cactus. A third was placed in a bunch of weeds growing out from a crevice in a perpendicular rock. Another, found May 29, was built in a small dead tree, overhung with vines. This nest was about five feet from the ground. A nest containing four young birds was found placed in a bunch of moss, hanging out of a crevice in a rock. These instances serve to show the general character of the position of their nests. Without being pensile they are usually resting upon pendent branches, and are not placed at great elevations.

The eggs measure .90 of an inch in length by .65 in breadth. Their shape is an oblong-oval, and they are obtuse at either end. Their ground-color is a dull white, with a purplish or a bluish tint. They are variously marked, in different eggs, with small blotches and finer dottings of a light purple, purplish-brown, darker purple, and even black.

[42] _Icterus wagleri_, SCLATER, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1857,
7.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 545, pl. lvii, f. 2.—IB. Mex.
B. II, Birds, 19, pl. xix, f. 2.—CASS. Pr. 1867, 55.
_Psarocolius flavigaster_, WAGLER, Isis, 1829, 756 (not of
VIEILLOT). _Pendulinus dominicensis_, BP. Consp. 1850, 432
(not of LINN.).

SP. CHAR. Bill much attenuated and considerably decurved.
Tail considerably graduated. Head and neck all round, back
(the color extending above over the whole interscapular
region), wings, and tail, including the whole of the lower
coverts and the tips of the upper, black. Lesser and middle
upper, with lower wing-coverts, hinder part of back, rump,
and under parts generally (except tail-coverts),
orange-yellow. Length, 9.50; extent, 12.00; wing, 4.50;
tail, 4.25; tarsus, 1.15.

_Young or female._ Above yellowish-green; more yellow on
head; throat black; sides of neck and body beneath dull
yellow. Wings dark brown, the coverts edged with white;
middle tail-feathers brownish-black; outer yellowish-green.
Length about 8 inches.

Younger birds are entirely dull olive-green above; beneath
greenish-yellow.

_Hab._ Northeastern Mexico to Rio Grande Valley; south to
Guatemala. Oaxaca, Jan. and March (SCL. 1859, 381);
Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 20); Vera Cruz, hot region,
resident (SUMICHRAST, M. B. S. I, 552).

A close ally, and perhaps only a race, of this species, is
the _I. prosthemelas_, STRICKL., which differs in smaller
size, and in having the lower tail-coverts yellow instead of
black (see synoptical table, p. 778).

HABITS. This fine species appears to be an abundant bird
from Northern Mexico throughout that republic and Central
America to Costa Rica. I am not aware that any specimens
have been procured actually within our territory. It was met
with at Saltillo, in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, by
Lieutenant Couch, where only a single specimen was obtained.
It was taken at the rancho of _Ojo Caliente_, or Hot
Springs. It was quite shy and difficult of approach. Like
all the other Orioles, it appeared to be quite fond of the
palm-tree known as the Spanish bayonet. It is given by
Sumichrast as occurring in the department of Vera Cruz,
where it appears to be confined to the hot region. It is
quite common in the district of Cordova, to the height of
about three thousand feet.

Mr. Salvin states this to be the only _Icterus_ found by him
about Dueñas, where it was not uncommon. In a letter written
by this naturalist, published in the Ibis of October, 1859,
he mentions having taken the nest and eggs of this species.
The structure, though of the same character,—a hanging
nest,—is very different from that of _I. gularis_, the
common species on the Yzabal road. The nest has none of the
depth of the other, but is comparatively shallow.

Icterus spurius, BON.

ORCHARD ORIOLE.

_Oriolus spurius_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 162.—GM. I, 1788, 389
(very inaccurate description; only identified by the
references). _Icterus spurius_, BON. Obs. on Nom. Wils. 1825,
No. 44.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 221; V, 485, pl. xlii.—IB.
Birds Am. IV, 1842, 46, pl. ccxix.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,
547.—SAMUELS, 346. _Oriolus varius_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I,
1766, 390. _Turdus ater_, GM. Syst. 1788, I; 1788, 83. _Oriolus
castaneus_, LATHAM, Ind. Orn. I, 1790, 181 (same citations as
_O. varius_, GM.). _Turdus jugularis_, LATHAM, Ind. Orn. I,
1790, 361 (same citations as _Turdus ater_, GM.). _Yphantes
solitaria_, VIEILLOT ♂. “_Pendulinus nigricollis_, VIEILL.
♂—_viridis_, IB.” _Oriolus mutatus_, WILSON, Am. Orn. I, 1808,
64, pl. iv, f. 1-4. _Xanthornus affinis_, LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y.
Lyc. N. H. V, May, 1851, 113 (small race from Texas).
_Pendulinus s._, CASS. Pr. 1867, 61. _Pendulinus affinis_,
CASS. Pr. 1867, 61.

SP. CHAR. Bill slender, attenuated, considerably decurved; tail moderately graduated. _Male_, three years. Head and neck all round, wings, and interscapular region of back, with tail-feathers, black. Rest of under parts, lower part of back to tail, and lesser upper wing-coverts, with the lower one, brownish-chestnut. A narrow line across the wing, and the extreme outer edges of quills, white. _Female._ Uniform greenish-yellow beneath, olivaceous above, and browner in the middle of the back; two white bands on the wings. Young male of two years like the female, but with a broad black patch from the bill to the upper part of the breast, this color extending along the base of the bill so as to involve the eye and all anterior to it to the base of the bill, somewhat as in _I. cucullatus_. Length of Pennsylvania male specimens, 7.25; wing, 3.25.

HAB. United States from the Atlantic to the high Central Plains, probably throughout Texas; south to Guatemala. Xalapa (SCL. 1859, 365); Cordova (SCL. 1856, 301); Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 20; LAWR. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 104); Rio Atrato (CASS. P. A. N. S. 1860, 140); Costa Rica (CABAN. J. 1861, 8); Panama (LAWR. N. Y. Lyc. 1861, 331); Cuba (GUNDLACH); Veragua (SALVIN, 1867, 142); Vera Cruz, winter (SUM. M. B. S. I,); Mazatlan.

This species varies greatly in size with its geographical distribution.

Winter specimens from Mexico have the black obscured by brownish borders to the feathers.

HABITS. The Orchard Oriole is found abundant throughout most of the United States, from the Atlantic to the Missouri Valley, and on the southwest to the valley of the Rio Grande. Mr. J. A. Allen met with individuals of this species as far west as the base of the Rocky Mountains, in Colorado, which he regards as the extreme western limit. It is a very rare summer visitant in New England, though found even as far eastward as Calais, Me. It was not found in Western Maine by Verrill, nor am I aware of its having been met with in either New Hampshire or Vermont. Mr. Allen states that a few pairs breed every season near Springfield, in Western Massachusetts. I have never met with it in the eastern part of the State, but others have been more fortunate, and it is probable that a few visit us each season.

In Texas Mr. Dresser found this species very common at San Antonio during the summer, arriving there quite early in April. He procured a number of their nests, all of which were made of light-colored flexible grasses, and suspended from the upper branches of the mesquite-trees. He also found them breeding near Houston, and on Galveston Island. He describes them as much smaller than birds from the Northern States. This smaller race Mr. Lawrence has regarded as a distinct species, to which he gives the name of _affinis_. It has been traced as far to the west as Fort Riley in Kansas, and Fort Lookout in Nebraska. It winters in Guatemala, where it is very abundant at that season. Mr. James McLeannan killed it as far south as Panama.

Dr. Elliott Coues considers this bird as rare and chiefly migrant in South Carolina; but Mr. H. S. Rodney (Naturalist, Jan., 1872) found them quite numerous at Camden, in that State, in the summer of 1871. He met with five nests between June 28 and July 19, and has no doubt he could have taken many more, as he counted at least fifteen different pairs. From the fact that Dr. Coues did not meet with any nest at Columbia, only thirty miles distant, Mr. Rodney infers that this Oriole is very partial to certain favored localities, as is also the Baltimore.

The Orchard Oriole is an active, sprightly, and very lively species, and possesses a very peculiar and somewhat remarkable song. Its notes are very rapidly enunciated, and are both hurried and energetic. Some writers speak of the song as confused, but this attribute is not in the utterance of the song, the musician manifesting anything but confusion in the rapid and distinct enunciation of his gushing notes. These may be too quick in their utterance for the listener to follow, but they are wonderful both for their rapidity and their harmony. His performance consists of shrill and lively notes, uttered with an apparent air of great agitation, and they are quite as distinct and agreeable, though neither so full nor so rich, as are those of the more celebrated Golden Robin.

In the Central States, from New York to North Carolina, these birds are not only very abundant, but very generally diffused. Hardly an orchard or a garden of any size can be found without them. They seem to prefer apple-trees for their abode, and for the construction of their nests. These structures, though essentially different, are, in their style of architecture, quite as curiously wrought and ingenious as those of the Baltimore. They are suspended from small twigs, often at the very extremity of the branches. In Pennsylvania they are usually formed externally of a peculiar kind of long, tough, and flexible grass. This material is woven through and through in a very wonderful manner, and with as much neatness and intricacy as if actually sewed with a needle. They are hemispherical in shape, open at the top, and generally about four inches in breadth and three deep. The cavity has a depth and a width of about two inches.

Wilson states that, having had the curiosity to detach one of these fibres of dried grass from the nest, he found it thirteen inches in length, and that, in that distance, it had been hooked through and returned no less than thirty-four times! In this manner it was passed entirely around the nest. The nests are occasionally lined with wool or the down of seeds. The external portions are strongly fastened to several twigs, so that they may be blown about by the wind without being upset.

Wilson also remarks that he observed that when these nests are built in the long pendent branches of the weeping-willow, where they are liable to much greater motion, though formed of the same materials, they are always made much deeper and of slighter texture. He regards this as a manifestation of a remarkable intelligence, almost equivalent to reason. The willow, owing to the greater density of its foliage, affords better shelter, and is preferred on that account, and owing to the great sweep, in the wind, of the branches, the eggs would be liable to be rolled out if the nest were of the usual depth; hence this adaptation to such positions.

The food of the Orchard Oriole is almost exclusively insects. Of these it consumes a large number, and with them it also feeds its young. Most of these are of the kinds most obnoxious to the husbandman, preying upon the foliage, destroying the fruit, and otherwise injuring the trees, and their destroyers render an incalculable amount of benefit to the gardens they favor with their presence. At the same time they are entirely innocent of injury to crops of any description, and I cannot find that any accusations or expressions of suspicion have been raised against them. They seem to be, therefore, general favorites, and, wherever protected, evince their appreciation of this good-will by their familiarity and numbers.

The female sits upon her eggs fourteen days, and the young remain in the nest about ten days longer. They are supposed to have occasionally two broods in a season, as nests with eggs are found the last of July. They are said to arrive in Pennsylvania about the first of May, and to leave before the middle of September.

According to Wilson they are easily raised from the nest, and become very tame and familiar. One that he kept through the winter, when two months old whistled with great clearness and vivacity.

All the nests of this species that I have seen from Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, or Texas, have no lining, but are wholly made of one material, a flexible kind of reed or grass.

The sociability of this species is one of its most marked characteristics. Audubon says that he has known no less than nine nests in the same enclosure, and all the birds living together in great harmony.

A nest of this bird, taken in Berlin, Conn., by Mr. Brandigee, has a diameter and a height of four inches. Its cavity is three inches in depth, and varies from three to three and a half in diameter, being widest at the centre, or half-way between the top and the base. It is entirely homogeneous, having been elaborately and skilfully woven of long green blades of grass. The inside is lined with animal wool, bits of yarn, and intermingled with a wooly substance of entirely vegetable origin. It was built from the extremity of the branch of an apple-tree.

An egg of this species, from Washington, measures .85 of an inch in length by .62 in breadth. The ground is a pale bluish-white, blotched with a pale purple, and dashed, at the larger end, with a few deep markings of dark purplish-brown. An egg from New Mexico is similar, but measures .79 of an inch by .54. Both are oblong oval, and pointed at one end.

Icterus cucullatus, SWAINSON.

HOODED ORIOLE.

_Icterus cucullatus_, SWAINSON, Philos. Mag. I, 1827,
436.—LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. V, May, 1851, 116 (first
introduced into fauna of United States).—CASSIN, Ill. I, II,
1853, 42, pl. viii.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 275.—BAIRD,
Birds N. Am. 1858, 546. _Pendulinus cucullatus_, BON. Consp.
1850, 433.—CASS. Pr. 1867, 60.

SP. CHAR. Both mandibles much curved. Tail much graduated. Wings, a rather narrow band across the back, tail, and a patch starting as a narrow frontal band, involving the eyes, anterior half of cheek, chin, and throat, and ending as a rounded patch on the upper part of breast, black. Rest of body orange-yellow. Two bands on the wing and the edges of the quills white. _Female_ without the black patch of the throat; the upper parts generally yellowish-green, brown on the back, beneath yellowish. Length, 7.50; wing, 3.25.

HAB. Valley of Lower Rio Grande, southward; Tucson, Arizona (DR. PALMER); Lower California, Cordova (SCL. 1856, 300); Guatemala? (SCL. Ibis I, 20); Cuba? (LAWR. Ann. VII, 1860, 267); San Bernardino, California (COOPER, P. Cal., etc. 1861, 122); Vera Cruz hot region (SUM. M. B. S. I, 553); Mazatlan.

The orange varies greatly in tint and intensity with the individual; sometimes it is deep orange-red; often clear dull yellow, but more frequently of an oily orange.

This species is closely allied to the _I. aurocapillus_ of South America, but differs in having black, not yellow, shoulders, and in the white markings on the wings.

HABITS. The Hooded Oriole is essentially a Mexican species, though it also extends northward into Texas at the Rio Grande, and into Southern California and Arizona. It was not noticed by Dr. Coues in Arizona, but Lieutenant Charles Bendire found it breeding near Tucson in the summer of 1872. It is abundant at Cape St. Lucas. Dr. Cooper found that this species arrived at San Diego about April 22, where they were not rare for a fortnight afterwards, and all then retired into the warmer interior valleys, where he has seen them as far to the north as Los Angeles. While migrating, they were generally silent.

Captain McCown found it quite common on the Rio Grande, where it rears its young. When met with in the woods and far away from the abodes of men, it seemed shy and disposed to conceal itself. Yet a pair of these birds were his constant visitors, morning and evening. They came to the vicinity of his quarters—an unfinished building—at Ringgold Barracks, and at last became so tame and familiar that they would pass from some ebony-trees, that stood near by, to the porch, clinging to the shingles and rafters, frequently in an inverted position, prying into the holes and crevices, apparently in search of spiders and such insects as could be found there. From this occupation they would occasionally desist, to watch his movements. He never could induce them to partake of the food he offered them.

Lieutenant Couch found this species common in the states of Tamaulipas and New Leon. He found their nests generally on or under the tops of the palm known as the Spanish bayonet.

This species is given by Mr. Sumichrast as one of the birds of Vera Cruz, where it is exclusively an inhabitant of the hot region, and where it is rarely found above an elevation of eighteen hundred feet.

These birds were found quite abundant at Cape St. Lucas, Lower California, by Mr. Xantus, by whom a number of their nests and eggs were obtained. The following brief memoranda in regard to a few of these nests will serve to show their general position:—“Nest and two eggs, found May 20, about ten feet from the ground, woven to a small aloe, in a bunch of the _Acacia prosopis_. Nest and two eggs, found May 22, on a dry tree overhung with hops. Nest and one egg, found May 30, on an acacia, about fifteen feet from the ground. Nest with young, found on an aloe four feet high. Nest and eggs, found on a moss hanging out of a perpendicular bluff, on the sea-coast. Nest and eggs found on a _Yucca angustifolia_, on its stem, six feet from the ground. Nest and two eggs, found in a convolvulus, on a perpendicular rock fifty feet high. Nest and three eggs, found on an acacia, twenty-five feet high.”

The eggs of this species vary somewhat in shape, some being obtuse and more spherical, others more pointed and oblong. They vary in length from .92 to .88 of an inch, and from .68 to .65 of an inch in breadth. They have a clear white ground, marbled and blotched with large dashes, dots, and irregular zigzag lines of purple, brown, and black, chiefly disposed around the larger end. In those where the spots are more diffused they are blended with obscure blotches of a faint lavender.

Icterus baltimore, DAUDIN.

BALTIMORE ORIOLE; GOLDEN ROBIN; HANG-NEST.

_Oriolus baltimore_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 162.—WILSON, Am.
Orn. I, 1808, 23, pl. i.—IB. VI, 1812, pl. liii. “_Icterus
baltimore_, DAUD.”—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 66; V, 1839, 278,
pls. xii. and ccccxxiii.—IB. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 37, pl.
ccxvii.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 548.—SCLATER & SALVIN, Ex.
Orn. I, 69, 188 (diagnosis).—SAMUELS, 348. _Yphantes
baltimore_, VIEILLOT, Gal. des Ois. I, 1824, 124, pl. lxxxvii.
_Psarocolius baltimore_, WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1825, No. 26. _Le
Baltimore_, BUFF. pl. enl. 506, f. 1. _Hyphantes b._, CASS. Pr.
1867, 62.

SP. CHAR. Tail nearly even. Head all round and to middle of back, scapulars, wings, and upper surface of tail, black; rest of under parts, rump, upper tail-coverts, and lesser wing-coverts, with terminal portion of tail-feathers (except two innermost), orange-red. Edges of wing-quills, with a band across the tips of the greater coverts, white. Length, 7.50 inches; wing, 3.75.

The female much less brilliant in color; the black of the head and back generally replaced by brownish-yellow, purer on the throat; each feather with a black spot.

HAB. From Atlantic coast to the high Central Plains, and in their borders; south to Panama. Xalapa (SCL. 1856, 365); Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 20); Cuba (CABAN. J. IV, 10); Costa Rica (CABAN. J. 1861, 7; LAWR. IX, 104); Panama (LAWR. N. Y. Lyc. 1861, 331); Veragua (SALV. 1867, 142); Mosquito Coast (SCL. & SALV. 1867, 279); Vera Cruz (autumn, SUM. M. B. S. I, 553).

A young bird is soft, dull orange beneath, palest on the throat, and tinged along the sides with olive; above olive, with an orange cast on the rump and tail, the latter being without any black; centres of dorsal feathers blackish; wings blackish, with two broad white bands across coverts, and broad edges of white to the tertials.

Specimens collected in Western Kansas, by Mr. J. A. Allen, have the middle wing-coverts pure white instead of deep orange, and, according to that naturalist, have more slender bills than Eastern birds. Mr. Allen thinks they form a race peculiar to the plains; but in examining the series of specimens in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution, we have failed to discover any constancy in this respect. A male (5,356, Farm Isl., May 30) from Nebraska has the middle wing-coverts pure white,—the lesser, clear orange; the black throat-stripe is almost separated from the black of the cheeks by the extension forward of the orange on each side of it, only the tips of the feathers being black.

No. 61,192 ♂, Mount Carmel, Ill. (August 12), has the throat-stripe even more isolated, being connected anteriorly for only about a quarter of an inch with the black of the jaw; there is also a distinct indication of an orange superciliary stripe, mostly concealed, however, by the black tips of the feathers. The middle coverts, like the lesser, are pure plain orange.

A male from Cape May, N. J. (59,458, May), has the middle coverts white, and the lesser wholly uniform black. The head, however, is as in typical specimens.

In a series of twenty adult spring males from Carlisle, Penn., seven have the middle coverts more or less white. But it is noticed that all these specimens with white middle coverts have invariably less intense colors than those with orange shoulders, while in the Kansas specimens the other colors are of the brightest character.

A male from Washington (12,317, May 6) is exactly similar.

HABITS. The familiar Baltimore Oriole, the Golden Robin of the New England States, is found throughout eastern North America, at various seasons, from Texas to the British Possessions, and from the Atlantic to the plains. It is, however, for the most part, not common beyond the Mississippi River. It has been traced as far to the north as the 55th parallel of latitude, and probably breeds more or less abundantly in every State east of the Mississippi River. It is rare in Florida, and is not given by Mr. Allen as known to that State, but I have received its nest and eggs from Monticello in West Florida. The Smithsonian Museum embraces specimens from as far west as Powder River and the Yellowstone.

Mr. J. A. Allen (Am. Naturalist, June, 1872) mentions finding this species at the base of the Rocky Mountains, in Colorado, which he regards as its extreme western limit. In Kansas he found this species, as well as the Orchard Oriole, abundant, the Baltimore indulging in a dialect so different from that of its northern relatives as often to puzzle him to make out to what bird its strange notes belonged. Its colors were also unusually bright in all the specimens he examined.

Mr. Boardman gives it as very rare at Calais, but Professor Verrill thinks it common in Western Maine. It is abundant throughout the southern and central portions of Vermont, and New Hampshire, and in all New York. It is a common summer resident at Hamilton, Ontario, where it arrives the second week in May. It was found on the plains of the Saskatchewan by Captain Blakiston.

Mr. Dresser states it to have been abundant at Matamoras, where it was breeding, though he was too late for its eggs. He saw none at San Antonio, but Mr. J. H. Clark was more fortunate. Numbers of them, he states, were seen nesting in the mesquite-trees on the prairies, at which time they were very musical, having sometimes as many as three nests in the same tree. These were all built of fine grass, among the top branches, and interwoven with the leaves. Dr. Woodhouse found it quite common in the Indian Territory and in Eastern Texas. Specimens of this species were taken by Mr. James M. Leannan, at Panama, which is presumed to be the most southern locality on record for this bird.

The Baltimore Oriole is one of the most common birds nearly throughout New England. Gay and brilliant in plumage, interesting and lively in manners and habits, and a vocalist of rare power, with pathos, beauty, and variety in his notes, this bird has been, and would still be, a great favorite, but for its transgressions among the pea-vines of our gardens. He makes his appearance with exemplary punctuality, seeming regardless of the prematureness or tardiness of the season. Rarely does the 10th of May pass without the sound of his welcome notes, and rarely, if ever, does he come sooner.

Their period of song is not a long one, but soon terminates, as family cares increase and the tender broods require an undivided attention. Early in July this Oriole ceases to favor the world with those remarkable notes that seldom fail to attract attention by their peculiarity, and to excite admiration by their rich and full-toned melody.

When the male Baltimores first arrive, they come unaccompanied by their mates. At this time their notes are unusually loud, and their voices seem shrill. Their song appears to partake somewhat of the nature of tender lamentations and complaining. At this period they are very active and restless, moving rapidly through the branches of the trees, just opening into leaf and blossom, searching busily for the insects which then form their principal food. When, a few days after their arrival, they are joined by the females, the whole character of their song changes, which becomes a lower-toned, richer, and more pleasing refrain. During their love-season their resonant and peculiarly mellow whistle resounds in every garden and orchard, along the highways of our villages, and in the parks and public squares of our cities.

Nuttall, generally very felicitous in expressing by verbal equivalents the notes of various species of our song-birds, describes the notes of its song as running thus, _Tshippe-tshayia-too-too-tshippe-tshippe-too-too_, with several other very similar modifications and variations. But these characters give a very inadequate idea of their song. It must be heard to be appreciated, and no description can do justice to its beauties. The notes are of an almost endless variety, and each individual has his own special variations. The female, too, has her own peculiar and very pretty notes, which she incessantly warbles as she weaves her curiously elaborate nest.

To agriculturists this Oriole renders immense service in the destruction of vast numbers of highly injurious insects; among the most noteworthy of these are the common canker-worm and the tent caterpillars, both great pests to orchards. These benefits far more than compensate for its annoying attacks on the pods of esculent peas, the only sin that can rightfully be brought against it, except, perhaps, the acts of theft committed against other birds, in seizing upon and appropriating to it materials collected by smaller birds for their nests.

The Baltimore Orioles are devoted, faithful, and courageous parents, resolutely defending their young when in danger, and exposing themselves fearlessly to danger and to death rather than forsake them. If their young are taken and caged, the parents follow them, and, if permitted, will continue to feed them.

Mr. Ridgway mentions an instance where the female entered her nest while he was in the act of severing the limb from which it was suspended, and persisted in remaining there until the nest had been cut off and taken into the house. One of these birds, reared from the nest by a family in Worcester, Mass., became perfectly domesticated, was allowed full liberty, and even when taken by the married daughter of its mistress, perched on her finger, through the open grounds to her own house, made no attempt to escape. It delighted in occasional acts of mischief, especially in putting its pointed bill through the meshes of the lace curtains, and then opening its beak, seeming to enjoy the sound produced by tearing the threads.

In the construction of its nest the Oriole displays great skill and ingenuity. This structure is a pendulous and nearly cylindrical pouch, suspended from the extremity of some hanging branch. It is constructed by means of the interweaving of the natural filaments of several flaxlike plants into a homogeneous fabric of great strength, and admirably adapted to its purpose. A nest of this species from West Florida, as well as the one figured by Audubon, was made entirely of the long moss (_Tillandsia usneoides_) so abundant in Southern forests.

The young birds, before they can fly, climb to the edge of the nest, and are liable, in sudden tempests, to be thrown out. If uninjured, they are good climbers, and by means of wings, bill, and claws, are often able to reach places of safety. In one instance a fledgling, which had broken both legs, and was placed in a basket to be fed by its parents, managed, by wings and bill, to raise itself to the rim, and in a few days took its departure.

The parents feed their young chiefly with caterpillars, which they apparently swallow and then disgorge for this purpose. In confinement they feed readily on soaked bread and fruit, and are especially fond of figs. They are soon reconciled to confinement, become very docile and even playful, sing readily, and will even come at a given signal and alight on the finger of their master.

The eggs of the Baltimore are usually five and rarely six in number. They are of an oblong-oval shape, pointed at one end, and measure .91 of an inch in length by .60 in breadth. Their ground-color is white, with a slight roseate tinge when fresh, fading into a bluish shade in time. They are all variously marked, dotted, and marbled, with spots, blotches, and irregular waving lines of purplish-brown. These markings are of greatly varying shades, from a light purple to almost complete blackness, only perceptibly purplish in a strong light.

Icterus bullocki, BON.

BULLOCK’S ORIOLE.

_Xanthornus bullocki_, SW. Syn. Mex. Birds, Taylor’s Phil. Mag. I,
1827, 436. _Agelaius bullocki_, RICH. Rep. Brit. Assoc. 1837.
_Icterus bullocki_, BON. List, 1838.—AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839,
9, pls. ccclxxxviii and ccccxxxiii.—IB. Birds Am. IV, 1842,
43, pl. ccxviii.—NEWBERRY, Rep. P. R. R. VI, IV, 1857,
87.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 549.—MAX. Caban. J. VI, 1858,
259.—LORD, Pr. R. A. Inst. IV, 121.—COOPER & SUCKLEY,
209.—SCLATER & SALVIN, Ex. Orn. I, 1869, 188
(diagnosis).—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 273. _Psarocolius
auricollis_, MAXIM. Reise Nordam. I, 1839, 367 (Fort Pierre,
Neb.). _Hyphantes b._, CASS. Pr. A. N. S. 1867, 62.—HEERM. X,
_S_, 52 (nest).

SP. CHAR. Tail very slightly graduated. Upper part of the head and neck, back, wings, two central tail-feathers, line from base of bill through the eye to the black of the nape, and a line from the base of the bill running to a point on the throat, black. Under parts generally, sides of head and neck, forehead and line over the eye, rest of tail-feathers, rump, and upper tail-coverts, yellow-orange. A broad band on the wings, involving the greater and middle coverts, and the outer edges of the quills, white. Young male with the black replaced by greenish-yellow, that on the throat persistent; female without this. The first plumage of the young differs from that of _baltimore_ in being more whitish beneath; lighter olive above, and without dark spots on back; white of middle and greater coverts connected by white edges of the latter. Length, about 7.50 inches; wing, 3.80.

HAB. High Central Plains to the Pacific; rare on Upper Missouri; south into Mexico. City of Mexico (SCL. & SALV. 1869, 362).

A closely allied Mexican species is _I. abeillei_ of Lesson, differing principally in having the sides and rump black.

HABITS. Bullock’s Oriole, the western counterpart of the eastern Baltimore, is found throughout the Pacific shore, from the great Central Plains to the ocean, and from Washington Territory to Mexico. It is not given by Sumichrast as occurring in Vera Cruz, where its place is taken, as a migrant, by the Baltimore. It was not noticed by Mr. Dresser on the Rio Grande, but in Arizona it was found by Dr. Coues to be a common summer resident. It was there seen to frequent, almost exclusively, the willows and cottonwoods of the creek-bottoms. To the small twigs of these trees its pensile nests were usually attached. It is said to arrive in Arizona late in April, and to remain there nearly through September.

In the survey of the Mexican boundary Dr. Kennerly met with this species in passing through Guadaloupe cañon, where it was often seen, but it was observed at no other point on the route. It seemed to prefer the low bushes on the hillside to the large trees. In its motions it was quick and restless, passing rapidly from bush to bush.

In Washington Territory this species is stated by Dr. Suckley to be more abundant in the sparsely wooded districts of the eastern base of the Cascade Mountains than in the Coast Range. He found it exceedingly abundant at Fort Dalles and along the eastern base of Mt. Adams. They arrive about the 15th of May, and were very common among the low oaks of that region. He speaks of its song as very pleasant, and especially melodious early in the morning, when the bird is generally perched on the sunny side or top of an oak.

At Puget Sound, according to Dr. Cooper, these birds do not arrive until the beginning of June, and are at no time very common there. He describes their habits as similar to those of the _spurius_, they being shy and difficult to discover among the foliage. Their song is more like that of the Baltimore, loud, clear, and varied.

In his Report on the birds of California, Dr. Cooper states that these birds arrive at San Diego, from the south, about March 1; but at Fort Mohave, one hundred and sixty miles farther north, he saw none until a month later. Like the Baltimore Oriole, they resort to the open roads, gardens, and orchards, putting themselves under the protection of man, and repaying him both by their sweet melody and their usefulness in destroying insects. They keep chiefly in the trees and rarely descend to the ground, except to collect materials for their nests. These are suspended from the end of a branch, and are constructed of fibrous grasses, horse-hairs, strings, bits of rags, wool, hempen fibres of plants, etc. At times only a single material is used, such as horse-hair. These nests are neatly and closely interwoven in the form of a deep bag or purse, and are suspended by the edges from the forks of a branch, near its end. They have usually a depth of about four or five inches, and a diameter of about three or three and a half. In most cases they are largely made of the flaxen fibres of wild hempen plants, and by strings of this are firmly bound around the ends of the twigs to which they are suspended. They are lined within with fine, soft vegetable down. In some nests the inner bark of the silkweed largely predominates.

Dr. Cooper states that the eggs of Bullock’s Oriole are, in number, from four to six. He describes them as bluish-white, with scattered, winding streaks and hair-lines of black and reddish-brown near the larger end, measuring .98 by .60 of an inch. In the southern half of California they are laid in the first or second week of May. At Santa Cruz, in 1866, he did not observe any of this species until April 3.

Mr. Allen did not meet with this species in Western Kansas, and it is not included in his list of birds observed by him near Fort Hays. At Ogden and Salt Lake City, in Utah, which he reached the first of September, Bullock’s Oriole had already migrated southward.

In all the fertile portions of the country west of the plains, Mr. Ridgway found Bullock’s Oriole—the western representative of the Baltimore—extremely abundant. In May, when the valley of the Truckee, near Pyramid Lake, was visited, he observed great numbers feeding upon the buds of the grease-wood, in company with the Louisiana Tanager and the Black-headed Grosbeaks. In certain localities there was scarcely a tree that did not contain one or more nests of these birds, and as many as five have been found in a single tree. Although constructed in a manner almost precisely similar to those of the common eastern species, its nest is less frequently pendulous, being in many cases fixed between the upright twigs near the top of the tree. It is, however, not unfrequently suspended, like that of the Baltimore, from the extremity of a drooping branch, though very rarely in so beautiful a manner. The notes of this Oriole, which are similar to those of the Baltimore, are neither so distinct, so mellow, nor so strong, and their effect is quite different from that produced by the splendid mellow whistling of the eastern species; and the mellow, rolling chatter so characteristic of the latter is not so full in the western species, and generally ends in a sharp _chow_, much like the curious mewing of an _Icteria_. He regards Bullock’s Oriole as altogether a less attractive species.

Mr. Lord found this bird by no means an abundant species in British Columbia. Those that were seen seemed to prefer the localities where the scrub-oaks grew, to the pine regions. He found their long, pendulous nests suspended from points of oak branches, without any attempt at concealment. He never met with any of these birds north of Fraser’s River, and very rarely east of the Cascades. A few stragglers visited his quarters at Colville, arriving late in May and leaving early in September, the males usually preceding the females three or four days.

On the Shasta Plains Mr. Lord noticed, in the nesting of this bird, a singular instance of the readiness with which birds alter their habits under difficulties. A solitary oak stood by a little patch of water, both removed by many miles from other objects of the kind. Every available branch and spray of this tree had one of the woven nests of this brilliant bird hanging from it, though hardly known to colonize elsewhere in this manner.

Dr. Coues, in an interesting paper on the habits of this species in the Naturalist for November, 1871, states that its nests, though having a general resemblance in their style of architecture, differ greatly from one another, usually for obvious reasons, such as their situation, the time taken for their construction, and even the taste and skill of the builders. He describes one nest, built in a pine-tree, in which, in a very ingenious manner, these birds bent down the long, straight, needle-like leaves of the stiff, terminal branchlets, and, tying their ends together, made them serve as the upper portion of the nest, and a means of attachment. This nest was nine inches long and four in diameter.

Another nest, described by the same writer, was suspended from the forked twig of an oak, and draped with its leaves, almost to concealment. It had an unusual peculiarity of being arched over and roofed in at the top, with a dome of the same material as the rest of the nest, and a small round hole on one side, just large enough to admit the birds.

The eggs of this Oriole are slightly larger than those of the Baltimore, and their ground-color is more of a creamy-white, yet occasionally with a distinctly bluish tinge. They are marbled and marked with irregular lines and tracings of dark umber-brown, deepening almost into black, but never so deep as in the eggs of the eastern species. These marblings vary constantly and in a remarkable degree; in some they are almost entirely wanting. They measure .90 of an inch in length by .65 in breadth.

SUBFAMILY QUISCALINÆ.

[Line drawing: _Scolecophagus ferrugineus._
16775]

CHAR. Bill rather attenuated, as long as or longer than the head. The culmen curved, the tip much bent down. The cutting edges inflected so as to impart a somewhat tubular appearance to each mandible. The commissure sinuated. Tail longer than the wings, usually much graduated. Legs longer than the head, fitted for walking. Color of males entirely black with lustrous reflections.

The bill of the _Quiscalinæ_ is very different from that of the other _Icteridæ_, and is readily recognized by the tendency to a rounding inward along the cutting edges, rendering the width in a cross section of the bill considerably less along the commissure than above or below. The culmen is more curved than in the _Agelainæ_. All the North American species have the iris white.

The only genera in the United States are as follows:—

Scolecophagus. Tail shorter than the wings; nearly even. Bill shorter than the head.

Quiscalus. Tail longer than the wings; much graduated. Bill as long as or longer than the head.

GENUS SCOLECOPHAGUS, SWAINSON.

_Scolecophagus_, SWAINSON, F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831. (Type, _Oriolus
ferrugineus_, GMELIN.)

GEN. CHAR. Bill shorter than the head, rather slender, the edges inflexed as in _Quiscalus_, which it otherwise greatly resembles; the commissure sinuated. Culmen rounded, but not flattened. Tarsi longer than the middle toe. Tail even, or slightly rounded.

The above characteristics will readily distinguish the genus from its allies. The form is much like that of _Agelaius_. The bill, however, is more attenuated, the culmen curved and slightly sinuated. The bend at the base of the commissure is shorter. The culmen is angular at the base posterior to the nostrils, instead of being much flattened, and does not extend so far behind. The two North American species may be distinguished as follows:—

Synopsis of Species.

S. ferrugineus. Bill slender; height at base not .4 the total length. Color of male black, with faint purple reflection over whole body; wings, tail, and abdomen glossed slightly with green. Autumnal specimens with feathers broadly edged with castaneous rusty. _Female_ brownish dusky slate, without gloss; no trace of light superciliary stripe.

S. cyanocephalus. Bill stout; height at base nearly .5 the total length. Color black, with green reflections over whole body. Head only glossed with purple. Autumnal specimens, feathers edged very indistinctly with umber-brown. _Female_ dusky-brown, with a soft gloss; a decided light superciliary stripe.

Cuba possesses a species referred to this genus (_S. atroviolaceus_), though it is not strictly congeneric with the two North American ones. It differs in lacking any distinct membrane above the nostril, and in having the bill not compressed laterally, as well as in being much stouter. The plumage has a soft silky lustre; the general color black, with rich purple or violet lustre. The female similarly colored to the male.

Scolecophagus ferrugineus, SWAINSON.

RUSTY BLACKBIRD.

_Oriolus ferrugineus_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 393, No. 43.—LATH.
Ind. I, 1790, 176. _Gracula ferruginea_, WILSON, Am. Orn. III,
1811, 41, pl. xxi, f. 3. _Quiscalus ferrugineus_, BON. Obs.
Wils. 1824, No. 46.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 199.—AUD. Orn.
Biog. II, 1834, 315; V, 1839, 483, pl. cxlvii.—IB. Synopsis,
1839, 146.—IB. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 65, pl. ccxxii.—MAX.
Caban. J. VI, 1858, 204. _Scolecophagus ferrugineus_, SWAINSON,
F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831, 286.—BON. List, 1838.—BAIRD, Birds N.
Am. 1858, 551.—COUES, P. A. N. S. 1861, 225.—CASS. P. A. N.
S. 1866, 412.—DALL & BANNISTER, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, 285
(Alaska). _? ? Oriolus niger_, GMELIN, I, 1788, 393, Nos. 4, 5
(perhaps _Quiscalus_).—SAMUELS, 350.—ALLEN, B. E. Fla. 291.
_Scolecophagus niger_, BONAP. Consp. 1850, 423.—CABANIS, Mus.
Hein. 1851, 195. _? ? Oriolus fuscus_, GMELIN, Syst. I, 1788,
393, No. 44 (perhaps _Molothrus_). _Turdus hudsonius_, GMELIN,
Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 818.—LATH. Ind. _Turdus noveboracensis_,
GMELIN, I, 1788, 818. _Turdus labradorius_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat.
I, 1788, 832.—LATH. Ind. I, 1790, 342 (_labradorus_).
“_Pendulinus ater_, VIEILLOT, Nouv. Dict.” _Chalcophanes
virescens_, WAGLER, Syst. Av. (Appendix, _Oriolus_ 9). _?
Turdus_ No. 22 from Severn River, Forster, Phil. Trans. LXII,
1772, 400.

SP. CHAR. Bill slender; shorter than the head; about equal to the hind toe; its height not quite two fifths the total length. Wing nearly an inch longer than the tail; second quill longest; first a little shorter than the fourth. Tail slightly graduated; the lateral feathers about a quarter of an inch shortest. General color black, with purple reflections; the wings, under tail-coverts, and hinder part of the belly, glossed with green. In autumn the feathers largely edged with ferruginous or brownish, so as to change the appearance entirely. Spring female dull, opaque plumbeous or ashy-black; the wings and tail sometimes with a green lustre. Young like autumnal birds. Length of male, 9.50; wing, 4.75; tail, 4.00. Female smaller.

HAB. From Atlantic coast to the Missouri. North to Arctic regions. In Alaska on the Yukon, at Fort Kenai, and Nulato.

HABITS. The Rusty Blackbird is an eastern species, found from the Atlantic to the Missouri River, and from Louisiana and Florida to the Arctic regions. In a large portion of the United States it is only known as a migratory species, passing rapidly through in early spring, and hardly making a longer stay in the fall. Richardson states that the summer range of this bird extends to the 68th parallel, or as far as the woods extend. It arrives at the Saskatchewan in the end of April, and at Great Bear Lake, latitude 65°, by the 3d of May. They come in pairs, and for a time frequent the sandy beaches of secluded lakes, feeding on coleopterous insects. Later in the season they are said to make depredations upon the grain-fields.

They pass through Massachusetts from the 8th of March to the first of April, in irregular companies, none of which make any stay, but move hurriedly on. They begin to return early in October, and are found irregularly throughout that month. They are unsuspicious and easily approached, and frequent the streams and edges of ponds during their stay.

Mr. Boardman states that these birds are common near Calais, Me., arriving there in March, some remaining to breed. In Western Massachusetts, according to Mr. Allen, they are rather rare, being seen only occasionally in spring and fall as stragglers, or in small flocks. Mr. Allen gives as their arrival the last of September, and has seen them as late as November 24. They also were abundant in Nova Scotia. Dr. Coues states that in South Carolina they winter from November until March.

These birds are said to sing during pairing-time, and become nearly silent while rearing their young, but in the fall resume their song. Nuttall has heard them sing until the approach of winter. He thinks their notes are quite agreeable and musical, and much more melodious than those of the other species.

During their stay in the vicinity of Boston, they assemble in large numbers, to roost in the reed marshes on the edges of ponds, and especially in those of Fresh Pond, Cambridge. They feed during the day chiefly on grasshoppers and berries, and rarely molest the grain.

According to Wilson, they reach Pennsylvania early in October, and at this period make Indian corn their principal food. They leave about the middle of November. In South Carolina he found them numerous around the rice plantations, feeding about the hog-pens and wherever they could procure corn. They are easily domesticated, becoming very familiar in a few days, and readily reconciled to confinement.

In the District of Columbia, Dr. Coues found the Rusty Grakle an abundant and strictly gregarious winter resident, arriving there the third week in October and remaining until April, and found chiefly in swampy localities, but occasionally also in ploughed fields.