The orioles of America belong to a very different group of birds and arc 

 related t(j our blackbirds, the bobolink and the nieadowlark. All these birds 

 belong to the family Ictcridac, the rc|)resentativcs of which are confined to the 

 New World. 



The genus (jf (jrioles ( icteru.s; contains about fjjrty species, chiefly natives 

 of C eiural and South America. 'Ihe jilumage of nearly all the species is more or 

 less colored with shades of yellow, (jrangc and black. 



.Audubon's Oriole, the male of which we illustrate, has a very limited range, 

 including the "valley of the Lower Kio (Irande in Texas and s(juthward in Mexico 

 to Oaxaca." It is more common in central and eastern Mexiio than in any other 

 part of its range. In the summer, it only frc(iuents the den>er ftircsts of its Texas 

 home, but during the winter months it will approach the inhabited regions. 



The Mexicans capture these Orioles and offer them for sale. In captivity, 

 however, they seem to lose their vivacity and will n(it sing. "When free their 

 usual song is a prolonged and rej)cated whistle of extraordinary mellowness and 

 sweetness, each note varying in pitch from the preceding." 



It is said that this beautiful bird is frequently called ujKjn to becoiue the foster 

 parents of the otYspring of some of those birds that have neither the inclination to 

 build their own nests or to raise their own families. The ingenious nests of the 

 orioles seem to be especially attractive tf) these tramp birds which possess parasitic 

 tastes. 



The red-eyed cowbird (Collothrus robustus), of the Southern United States 

 and Central America, seems to be the pest that infests the homes of Audubon's 

 Oriole. It has been stated that the majority of the sets of eggs collected from 

 the nests of this Oriole contain one or more of the cowbird's eggs. It is also 

 probable that many of the Oriole's eggs are destroyed by the cowbirds as well as 

 by other agencies, and thus, though the raising of two broods the same season is 

 frefjuently attempted, the species is far from abundant. 



Regarding the nesting habits of the .Audubon's Oriole. Captain Charles Ben- 

 dire says. '"The nest of this Oriole is usually placed in mcsquite trees, in thickets 

 and open woods, from six to fourteen feet from the ground. It is a semipensile 

 structure, woven of fine, wire-like grass used while still green and resembles those 

 of the hooded and orchard orioles, which are much better known. The nest is 

 firmly attached, both on the top and sides, to small branches and growing twigs 

 and, for the size of the bird, it appears rather small. r)ne now before me measures 

 three inches in depth inside by about the same in inner diameter. The rim of the 

 nest is somewhat contracted to prevent the eggs from being thrown out during 

 high winds. The inner lining consists of somewhat finer grass tops, which still 

 retain considerable strength and are even now', when perfectly dry, difficult to 

 break. Only a single nest of those found was placed in a bunch of Spanish moss 

 and this was suspended within reach of the ground ; the others were attached to 

 small twigs." 



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