76 



ORIOLID-E. 



On referring to Latham's Supplement to the "General Synopsis of Birds," and his 

 "Index Ornithologicus," I have verified the previous statement; it is remarkable that the 

 error remained so long undiscovered. 



The range of the Olive-backed Oriole extends over most parts of Eastern, and South-eastern 

 Australia. .Although frequenting open forest lands and mountain ranges in the inland portion 

 of the States, it evinces a decided preference for the rich coastal brushes which afford it an 

 abundant supply of its usual food, consisting of wild fruits, berries, and insects. The fruit 

 of the native fig-trees, and of the introduced ink-weed (Phytolacca octandra), found in these 

 localities, are eagerly devoured by this species. It does not, however, limit its attention to 

 wild fruits and berries, for ever since the advent of fruit-growers in .\ustralia, this bird has 

 proved itself to be a notorious orchard marauder, attacking the softer fruits, such as grapes, 

 mulberries, cherries, peaches, figs, bananas, and paw-paws. Specimens are frequently obtained 

 with the plumage stained or dyed with the juice of the mulberry, or ink-weed. From \'ictoria 

 Mr. Keartlaiid sends me the following note: — "The extreme fondness of the Olive-backed 

 Oriole for cultivated fruit was the cause of my paying a special \isit to Clayton in search of 

 what was '^airl to lie a strange bird, and described as 'being all crimson and very wary.' On 



my arrival at th(; paddock it used 

 to frequent, I saw the rara avis 

 approaching from the direction of 

 a neighbouring orchard, and struck 

 by its peculiar colour, I determined 

 to secure it. .\fter over an hour's 

 hard chasing, I shot what proved 

 to be one of tiiis species witli the 

 whole of its plumage stained with 

 mulberry juice." 



Usually this bird is met with 

 in pairs, frequenting the topmost 

 branches of the tallest trees, except 

 in the autumn and winter months, 

 when it congregates in flocks. In 

 July, 1896, large numbers of them appeared in the Corowa District, and at that time were 

 subsisting chiefly on olives. It is possessed of varied notes, some of which are very melodious, 

 and can be heard a long distance away. 



The nest is a deep, cup-shaped structure, outwardly formed of long thin strips of stringy- 

 bark, and bark fibre, or the paper-like bark of the Melaleuca when procurable, the inside being 

 thickly lined with fine wiry green grass-stems. Some nests are slightly coated with the pale 

 green Bearded Lichen (Usnea barbata), or ornamented with the webs and egg-bags of spiders, 

 while others, when built in tea-trees, are outwardly constructed entirely with the white paper- 

 like bark of some species of the latter. .\n average nest measures externally five inches and 

 a half in diameter by four inches in depth; the inner cup three inches and a c]uarter in diameter 

 by two inches and three-quarters in depth. It is securely fastened by the rim to a thin 

 horizontal fork near the extremity of a branch, usually of a Eucalyptus or Aiigophora, and less 

 frequently of a Syncarpia or Melaleuca. Generally they are built at a height varying from twenty 

 to sixty feet from the ground, and are difficult to obtain, but in mountain ranges I have known 

 them to be built in saplings almost within hand's reach. 



Eggs usually three in number for a sitting, sometimes only two, and rarely four. They 

 vary in form from oval to elongate-oval, the shell being close-grained, smooth, and lustrous. 

 The ground colour is variable, ranging from dull white to creamy-white and ri( h brownish-white, 



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OLIVK-HAl KKl) OHIO I. K 



