118 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



wick and Minnesota. They winter from Massa- 

 chusetts southward and return to us in early- 

 March. They are nearly eleven inches in length 

 and rather plump. Formerly they were con- 

 sidered as game birds and annually hunted by 

 the man with dog and gun. 



Orchard Oriole. A bird seen about the shade 

 trees and wooded parks of our Northern cities 

 as well as in the orchards and shade trees of 

 the farm is the Orchard Oriole, a bird of re- 

 finement in dress, song and manners. It does 

 not range so far north as the more abundant 

 variety, the Baltimore Oriole, and can scarcely 

 be classed as a common bird in New England; 

 but in the Middle States they are found in 

 goodly numbers. 



The dress of the male is much less showy than 

 that of his cousin, and some there are who re- 

 gard it as in better taste. The head, neck, 

 throat and upper back are black, the rump and 

 under parts rich chestnut, while the wings and 

 tail are olive-brown tipped with whitish. With 

 the female the upper parts are olive-green, the 

 head and rump brighter. The wings are olive- 

 brown tipped with whitish, the under parts dull 

 yellow. 



As a singer the Orchard Oriole excels in ex- 

 pression and flexibility of its short, clearly 

 voiced notes, and there is much of the same 

 quality manifest in the full clarion-like song of 

 its brilliant relative. This bird seems very happy 

 as it works about its nest in the sweet-scented 

 orchard, its snatches of melody a spontaneous 

 voicing of its gratitude. 



