THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE 



States to the northern part of Texas, Louisiana, and 

 Georgia, west to the Rocky Mts.; winters from south- 

 ern Mexico to Colombia. 



ORIOLES, with their brilliant plumage and beauti- 

 ful song, belong to the somber-hued, unmusical 

 blackbird family. They are truly "the flower of the 

 flock," — gorgeous tropical flowers, too. They invariably 

 arouse interest and almost always great admiration. So 

 dashing are they that they do not remain long enough near 

 us to let us know them well or love them. > They remind 

 me of brilliant opera-singers, elegantly attired, who are 

 followed by the eager eyes of a host of people. 



So many poets and writers of prose have sung the praise 

 of orioles that it surprised me to learn that neither Thoreau 

 nor Burroughs admired them. Thoreau wrote: "Two 

 gold robins; they chatter like blackbirds; the fire bursts 

 forth on their backs when they lift their wings. . . . But 

 the note is not melodious and rich. It is at most a clear 

 tone." ^ Burroughs said: "I have no use for the oriole. 

 He has not one musical note, and in grape time his bill 

 is red, or purple, with the blood of our grapes." ^ 



A grape-eating propensity is not a trait common to 

 orioles, according to Professor Beal's report of their food 

 habits. He says: "Brilliancy of plumage, sweetness of 

 song, and food habits to which no exception can be taken 

 are characteristics of the Baltimore oriole. During the 

 stay of the oriole in the United States, vegetable matter 

 amounts to only a little more than 16 per cent, of its food, 

 so that the possibility of its doing much d-iimage to crops 

 is very limited. The bird is accused of eating peas to a 



1 From "Notes on New England Birds," by H. D. Thoreau. 



2 From "Under The Maples," by John Burrouglis. 



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