THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE 



A merican-Blackbird Family — Icteridce 



Length: About 7>^ inches. 



Male: Head, throat, neck, and upper half of back black; 

 breast, belly, shoulders, lower half of back and outer 

 tail-feathers brilliant orange; wings black, many 

 feathers edged with white; half of middle tail- 

 feathers black; others largely orange; bill long, 

 slender, sharp. 



Female: Upper parts grayish-olive, washed with yellow and 

 mottled with black on head and back; under parts, 

 tail, and rump dull orange, paler at throat, which 

 is sometimes marked with black; wings brown, barred 

 with white. 



Notes: A loud whew-y, or whew, uttered frequently and insist- 

 ently, with a falling inflection. Orioles chatter 

 noisily, also. 



Song: A rich, melodious strain, very different in individuals, 

 but alike in a liquid quality, and in frequency of 

 utterance. For several successive years, two orioles 

 returned to our elms and apple-trees in Cleveland. 

 Their songs differed as decidedly from each other 

 and from those of other orioles as the voices and 

 enunciation of people vary. 



Habitat: Elm and maple-shaded streets and orchards preferred 

 in the springtime. After the nestlings are grown, 

 orioles may be found in thickets or in the woods. 



Nest: A hanging nest in the shape of a bag, usually suspended 

 near the end of a bough. The female weaves the 

 nest. 



Bange: Breeds from southern Canada and northern United 



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