AUDUBON'S BLACK-HEADED ORIOLE 213 



Plumages. — Chapman (1923b) describes the plumages briefly as 

 follows: "In nestling plumage, Audubon's Oriole is olive-green above, 

 greenish yellow below, the wings and tail being externally brownish. 

 The black head of the adult is acquired at the postjuvenal (first fall) 

 molt, but the wings and tail are still those of the 3 7 oung bird. This 

 plumage is worn throughout the first nesting season, at the end of 

 which the black wings and tail are acquired and the bird resembles 

 our figure. The female closely resembles the male and often cannot 

 be distinguished from it in color, but usually the back is more olive- 

 green, less pure yellow than in the fully adult male." 



The above description is correct as far as it goes. In a large series 

 that I have examined, the postjuvenal molt seems to begin early; I 

 have seen a young bird in ju venal plumage that was acquiring a black 

 throat on July 19, and another that had a nearly complete black head 

 on July 14. As stated above, this first winter plumage is worn with- 

 out much change all through the spring; I have seen birds in this 

 plumage in March, April, May, and June, and as late as July 7. The 

 postnuptial molt of adults is apparently not completed until some 

 time in September; one taken September 3 was still molting wings 

 and tail. 



Behavior. — The following quotations are taken from some papers 

 sent to John Cassin (1862) by Lieutenant Couch: 



The Black-headed Oriole was seen for the first time on the third of March 1858, 

 at Santa Rosalio rancho, eight leagues west of Matamoras. It had paired, and 

 both male and female were very shy and secluded, seeking insects on the nopal 

 (a species of prickly pear), or among the mimosa trees, never seeming to be at 

 rest, but constantly on the look-out for their favorite food. 



At Charco Escondido, farther in the interior of Tamaulipas, this bird was well 

 known to the rancheros, who were disposed to give it a bad reputation, stating 

 that it often came to the rancho to steal the freshly-slaughtered beef, hung up 

 to dry in the sun. Whether this was true or not, I had no opportunity of as- 

 certaining; but my acquaintance with the Black-headed Oriole, at this place, 

 I have a particular reason for remembering. * * * It was the day after a 

 severe norther, and the whole feathered kingdom was in motion. My guide 

 soon called my attention to two calandrias, as these birds are called by the Mexi- 

 cans, which were quietly but actively seeking their breakfast. The male having 

 been brought down by my gun, the female flew to a neighboring tree, apparently 

 not having observed his fall; soon, however, she became aware of her loss, and 

 endeavored to recall him to her side with a simple pout pou-it, uttered in a strain 

 of such exquisite sadness, that I could scarcely believe such notes to be produced 

 by a bird, and so greatly did they excite my sympathy, that I felt almost resolved 

 to desist from making further collections in natural history, which was one of 

 the principal objects of my journey into the country. * * * 



My stay in Mexico was not sufficiently protracted to enable me to study the 

 habits of this interesting bird as fully as I could have wished. Generally, its 

 flight is low and rapid, and it seemed to prefer the shade of trees. It was observed 



