190 XOllTll AMEUICAX ]'.IUT>.-5^ 



down from an old cactus. Aiiotlier was maJf iu a luiucli of hops, sus- 

 pended from a cactus. A third was placed iu a bunch of weeds growing 

 out from a crevice iu a perpendicular rock. Another, found May 29, was 

 Iniilt in a small dead tree, overhung with \ iuos. 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 instauces 

 serve to show the gentn'al character of the position of their nests. Without 

 being pensile tiiey arc usually resting u]ion pendent liranchcs, and are not 

 placed at great elevations. 



The eggs measure .90 of an inch in lengtli by Xi-'> in breadth. Tlieir sha])e 

 is an oblong-oval, and they are obtuse at either end. Their ground-color is 

 a dull white, with a juirjilish or a bluish tint. They are variously marked, 

 in different eggs, with small blotches and liner dottings of a light jiurple, 

 purplish-brown, darker purple, and even l.ilack. 



Icterus spvirius, r.ox. 



OECHARD ORIOLE. 



Oriolus spurhis, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 162. — Gm. I, 1788, 389 (very inaccurate de- 

 scription ; only identitii-d by the references). Icterus spurias, Bon. Obs. on Nora. 

 Wils. 182;'., No. 44. — Airu. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 221 ; V, 485, pi. xlii. — Ib. Birds 

 Am. IV, 1842, 46, jil. cc^ix. — B.vir.D, Birds N. Am. 1858, 547. — Samukls, 346. 

 Oriolus varitis, Gmelin, Syst. N.it. I, 1766, 390. Turdus ater, Gm. Syst. 1788, 1; 

 1788, 83. Oriolus castaneus, L-vnuM, Ind. Orn. I, 1790, 181 (same citations as 

 0. varius, Gm.). Turdus jugularis, Latham, Ind. Orn. I, 1790, 361 (same citations 

 as Turdus ater, Gm.). Yphanlcs solitaria, Vif.ii.Lut ^. "Pendulimcs nigricollis, 

 VlElLL. O. ■ — viridis, Ib." Oriolus mutatus, Wii.sc.N, Am. Orn. I, 1808, 64, pi. iv, 

 f. 1-4. Xanlhormis affinis, LAWituxcn, Ann. N. Y. Lye. N. H. V, May, 1851, 113 

 (small race from Texas). Pendulinus s., Cass. Pr. 1867, 61. PcnduHnus affinis, Cass. 

 Pr. 1867, 61. 



Sp. Char. Bill slender, attenuated, consideraljly deenrvetl ; tail moderately gn'-itliiated. 

 Male, three ye.ars. Head and work all ronnd, winsis, and interscapular region of back, with 

 tail-feather.s, black. Rest of under parts, lower part of back to tail, and lesser upper 

 wing-coverts, with the lower t>iie, 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 /. cucuUatus. 

 Length of Pennsylvania male specimens, 7.25 ; wing, 3.25. 



Hab. United States from the Atlantic to the high Central Plains, probably through- 

 out Texas; south to Guatemala. Xahqia (Scl. 1859, 305) : Cordova (Set,. LS56, 301); 

 Guatemala (ScL. Ibis, I, 20 ; Lawr. N. Y. Lye. IX, 10-1) ; Rio Atrato (Cass. P. A. N. S., 

 18G0, 140); Co.sta Rica (Cabax. J. 18G1, 8); Panama (Lawr. X^. Y. Lye. 18G1, 331); 

 Cuba (Gi-XDLAcii) ; A'eragua (Salvis, 18(57, 142;; Vera Cruz, winter (Sr.M. M. B. S. I,); 

 Mazatlan. 



This species varies greatly in size with its geographical distribution. 



