244 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 211 



bearing panicles of tubular orange flowers on stems about three feet 

 high. In the latter part of April a male Scott oriole (Icterus pari- 

 sorum) alighted many times on these stems, most frequently morn- 

 ings. He would thrust his bill deeply into the blossoms and appeared 

 to suck the nectar. * * * I got the impression that he did not gather 

 any insects." 



Bendire (1895) writes: "Their food consists mainly of grasshoppers, 

 small beetles, caterpillars, butterflies, larvae, etc., as well as of berries 

 and fruits. * * * I have seen them eating the ripe fig-like fruit of 

 the giant cactus." 



Grinnell (1910) says that an "apricot orchard near Fairmont was 

 freely patronized by the Scott Orioles from the neighboring yuccas. 

 Two shot there had their gullets distended and faces smeared with 

 apricot pulp." And Frank Stephens (1903) found them "feeding on 

 figs and peaches in the orchard" at Beale Spring. 



A. W. Anthony (1894) writes: "In January, 1894, I found this 

 Oriole wintering in the foothills just east of San Quintin, Lower Cali- 

 fornia, and feeding extensively, if not altogether on the ripe fruit of 

 the 'pitahaya' cactus (Cereus gunnosus). This fruit is about the size 

 and shape of a small orange, bright scarlet when ripe. The flesh is 

 similar to that of a ripe watermelon but much darker with an abund- 

 ance of very small dark seeds. In flavor it is not unlike raspberries, 

 but rather acid. Unless the fruit is abundant it is almost impossible 

 to find any that has not been torn open and the inside eaten by the 

 birds." 



Swarth (1904) says that "in feeding they sit quietly on the limbs 

 prying and peering into such buds as are within reach, any necessary 

 change of position being accomplished by clamboring along the 

 branches with hardly any fluttering of the wings; and as their plu- 

 mage, though bright, harmonizes exceedingly well with the surround- 

 ing foliage, they could be easily overlooked were it not for the loud 

 notes to which the males give utterance at frequent interval." 



Song. — When writing his account of this oriole Scott (1885) was 

 impressed with the persistence of its vocal efforts. "Few birds sing 

 more incessantly, and in fact I do not recall a species in the Eastern 

 or Middle States that is to be heard as frequently. The males are, 

 of course, the chief performers, but now and again, near a nest, * * * 

 I would detect a female singing the same glad song, only more softly. 

 At the earliest daybreak and all day long, even when the sun is at its 

 highest, and during the great heat of the afternoon, its very musical 

 whistle is one of the few bird songs that are ever present." In Pinal 

 County, Ariz., he observed that this bird arrived about the middle of 

 April, and from then until July 29 he heard the song daily, even hourly, 



