HOST RELATIONS OF PARASITIC COWBIRDS 183 



Lichtenstein's Oriole 



Icterus gularis (Wagler) 



Two races of this oriole have been found to be victims of the 

 bronzed cowbii'd. In El Salvador, van Rossem (Dickey and van 

 Rossem, 1938, p. 540) was informed by the natives that this oriole is 

 one of the most frequent victims of the parasite in the lowlands of 

 that country. Since van Rossem cited no specific instances, it seems 

 that he personally did not observe any but merely reported what 

 he had been told. The nominate race of the oriole is the form breeding 

 in El Salvador; the cowbird there is the race T.a. aeneus. At Monte, 

 Tamaulipas, the race I.g. iamaulipensis was found to be victimized; 

 on May 28, 1949, a nest containing 3 eggs of the oriole and 1 of the 

 bronzed cowbird (typical aeneus) was discovered by Dr. Travis C. 

 Meitzen (in litt.). Dr. Meitzen wrote me that this oriole is seldom 

 parasitized; he had examined at least 150 nests and found eggs of the 

 bronzed cowbird in only 2 of them. 



Hooded Oriole 



Icterus cucullatus (Swainson) 



The hooded oriole is one of the chief fosterers of the bronzed cow- 

 bird; it has been reported as a victim in Texas (at Refugio, at Browns- 

 ville, in the Nueces River Flats), in Arizona (at Tucson, at Tomb- 

 stone, near Oracle, at Sacaton, and in the Sabino Canyon), and 

 Dickerman (in litt.) recorded it in San Luis Potosi (El Salto), Mexico. 



Meitzen (in litt.) wrote me that at Refugio, Texas, he had found 

 about a dozen parasitized nests of the hooded oriole. In his compila- 

 tion, Bent (1958, p. 456) noted that as many as 6 eggs of the bronzed 

 cowbird were found in a single nest of this oriole (by Brandt, in the 

 Sabino Canyon). The hooded oriole has been found to rear the para- 

 sitic young (Friedmann, 1929, p. 331; Visher, 1910, p. 210). The 

 Texas and the San Luis Potosi records refer to the race I.e. sennetti 

 of the host and to the nominate race of the parasite; the Arizona in- 

 stances relate to I.e. nelsoni and T.a. milleri. 



Scarlet -headed Oriole 



Icterus pustulatus (Wagler) 



The scarlet-headed oriole has been found to be a victim of the 

 bronzed cowbird at San Geronimo, Guatemala, by Owen (18G1, pp. 

 61-63); in the lowlands of El Salvador, where it was one of the most 

 frequently chosen hosts, according to van Rossem (Dickey and 

 van Rossem, 1938, p. 540); at San Bias, Nayarit, by Bailey (1906, 

 p. 390); at Mazatlan, Sinaloa (Schliiter, 1899); at Guaymas, Sonora, 

 by Bancroft (Friedmann, 1933, p. 190); and near Cuernavaca, Morelos 

 (J. Stuart Rowley, mss.). The Guatemala and El Salvador records 



630590—63 13 



