50 



THE BULLOCK ORIOLE. 



Authorities. — Icterus bullockii Bon. Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. pt. 

 II. 185S, p. 550. T. C&S. D'. D=. Ss'. Ss-'. J. B. 

 Specimens.— (U. of W.) Prov. C. P'. 



BIRD of sun.shiiie and good cheer, springtime's ripest offering and 

 emblem of summer acliieved, is this iiappy-hearted creature who flits about 

 the orchards and timber cultures of eastern Washington. The willows of 

 the brook, the cottonwoods and the quaking' asps, were his necessary home 

 until the hand oi the pioneer made ready the locust, the maple and the Lom- 

 bardy poplars, which are now his favorite abiding places. And so. for many 



BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. 



years, the droning of bees, the heavy-scented breath of the acacia, and the 

 high, clear whistling of the Oriole have been associated memories. 



A little less dandified than his eastern cousin, the lordly Bird of Balti- 

 more, the Bullock Oriole fulfills much the same economy in habit, song, and 

 nesting as that well-known bird. He is, if anything, a little less muscial, 

 also, and not so conspicuous. 



The males arrive a week or two in advance of their mates, and appear quite 

 ill at ease until joined by their shy companions. Marriage compacts have to 



