274 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 211 



acquired on the throat at the first prenuptial molt; out of 27 young 

 females examined by Peters, 14 did not acquire it at all, 10 acquired 

 only traces, and only 3 had the black stripe complete. 



Food. — F. E. L. Beal (1910) examined the contents of 162 stomachs 

 of Bullock's oriole, taken in every month from April to August, in- 

 clusive. The contents consisted of 79 percent animal matter and 21 

 percent vegetable : 



The animal food consisted mainly of insects, with a few spiders, a lizard, a 

 mollusk shell, and eggshells. Beetles amounted to 35 percent, and all except a 

 few ladybugs (Coccinellidae) were harmful species. The coccinellids were found 

 in 9 stomachs, but the percentage was insignificant. Many of the beetles were 

 weevils, and quite a number belonged to the genus Balaninus, which lives upon 

 acorns and other nuts. Ants were found in 19 stomachs, and 1 contained nothing 

 else. Hymenoptera other than ants were found in 56 stomachs, and entirely 

 filled 2 of them. Including the ants, they amount to nearly 15 percent of the food 

 of the season. * * * 



One of the most interesting articles of food in the oriole's dietary is the black 

 olive scale (Saissetia oleae). This was found in 45 stomachs, and amounted to 5 

 percent of the food. In one stomach these scales formed 87 percent of the con- 

 tents; in another, 82; and in each of two others, 81 percent. * * * Hemiptera 

 other than scales are eaten quite regularly. They amount to a little more than 5 

 percent of the food. * * * They were mostly stinkbugs, leafhoppers, and tree 

 hoppers. Plant lice (Aphididae) were found in one stomach. 



Lepidoptera, moths, pupae, and caterpillars, are the largest item in 

 the food, amounting to 63 percent in April, only 8 percent in July, and 

 averaging a little more than 41 percent for the season. He continues: 



Perhaps the most interesting point in connection with the Lepidoptera is the 

 eating of the pupae and larvae of the codling moth (Carpocapsa pomonella). 

 These were found in 23 stomachs, which shows that they are not an unusual 

 article of diet. No less than 14 of the pupa cases were found in one stomach, and 

 as they are very fragile, many others may have been present, but broken up be- 

 yond recognition. It is curious that the oriole should find these insects. Dur- 

 ing the greater part of their larval life they are concealed within the apple. When 

 ready to pupate they crawl out and at once seek some place of concealment, such 

 as a crevice in bark or among clods or rubbish, where they can undergo their 

 changes. To find them, therefore, birds must hunt for them. 



Grasshoppers amounted to a little more than 3 percent for the season, 

 but "2 stomachs, both taken in June, contained nothing else, and 

 another had 97 percent of them. * * * Practically all of the vegetable 

 food consists of fruit, which amounts to a little more than 9 percent. 

 * * * It was found in 67 stomachs, of which 16 contained cherries; 

 11, figs; 5, blackberries or raspberries; 1, elder-berries; and 34, fruit 

 pulp not further identified. One stomach was entirely filled with the 

 pulp and seeds of figs." Fruit amounted to nearly 40 percent in July. 

 Herbert Brandt (MS.) watched a Bullock's oriole feeding for 

 several mornings at the blossoms of bird of paradise shrubs in Arizona. 

 "The oriole came just at dawn. He would fly from flower to flower, 



