SPURIOUS OR ORCHARD ORIOLE. 167 



young. This precaution of a warm lining, as in the pre- 

 ceding species, is, according to Audubon, dispensed with 

 in the warm climate of Louisiana. The eggs are 

 4 or 5, of a very pale bluish tint, with a few points of 

 brown, and spots of dark purple, chiefly disposed at the 

 greater end. The female sits about 14 days; and the 

 young continue in the nest 10 days before they become 

 qualified to flit along with their parents; but they are gen- 

 erally seen abroad about the middle of June, Previously 

 to their departure, the young, leaving the care of their 

 parents, become gregarious, and assemble sometimes in 

 flocks of separate sexes, from 30 to 40 or upwards ; in 

 the south frequenting the savannahs, feeding much on 

 crickets, grasshoppers, and spiders ; and at this season 

 their flesh is much esteemed by the inhabitants.* Wil- 

 son found them easy to raise from the nest, but does not 

 say on what they were fed, though they probably require 

 the same treatment as the Baltimore Oriole. According 

 to Audubon, they sing with great liveliness in cages, be- 

 ing fed on rice and dry fruits, when fresh cannot be 

 procured. Their ordinary diet, it appears, is caterpillars 

 and insects, of which they destroy great quantities. In 

 the course of the season they likewise feed on various 

 kinds of juicy fruits and berries, bat their depredations 

 on the fruits of the orchard are very unimportant. 



The Orchard Oriole is about 6.^ inches in length. The bill and 

 legs of the same color nearly as in the preceding species ; the former, 

 however, is a little bent, and very sharp at the point. The iris ha- 

 zel. The male, in the 3d year, is mottled on the upper parts of the 

 back with black and olive, and on the belly, sides, and breast the 

 reddish bay begins irregularly to appear, blended with yellow ; and 

 generally the 2 middle feathers of the tail are black, the others being 

 centered with the same color. 



* Audubon's Ornithological Biography, vol. i. p. 224. 



