254 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher 



AUDUBON'S ORIOLE {J nat. size) 

 A sweet whistler from Mexico who whistles in Texas, too 



SCOTT'S ORIOLE 

 Icterus parisorum Bonaparte 



A. O. U. Number 504 



General Description. — Length, 8 inches. Fore and 

 upper parts, black; under parts, yellow. Bill, long and 

 pointed; wings, moderately long; tail, more than ^ 

 length of wing. 



Color. — Adult Male: Feathers of head, neck, chest, 

 back, and shoulders, uniform black; lesser wing-coverts, 

 edge of wing, under wing-coverts, under parts of body 

 (except chest), thifilis. under tail-coverts deep lemon- 

 yelloiv, the rump and upper tail-coverts usually washed 

 with olive; middle wing-coverts, usually paler yellow, 

 often passing into white at tips; rest of wings, black, 

 the greater coverts tipped with white, and some of the 

 wing feathers with narrow white margins ; four middle 

 tail-feathers, black with basal portion light lemon- 

 yellow; rest with more than the basal half light lemon- 

 yellow, the terminal portion, black tipped with white. 

 AnuLT Female: Above, olive-grayish, becoming more 

 yellowish-olive on rump and upper tail-coverts, the 

 feathers of crown, back, and shoulders with darker 



center streaks, sometimes black with merely the margins 

 grayish-olive; wings, dusky with light grayish-edgings, 

 the middle and greater coverts broadly tipped with 

 white, forming two distinct bands ; tail, yellowish-olive 

 with four middle feathers and terminal portion of the 

 remainder darker, more grayish-olive ; under parts, 

 plain yellowish-olive, passing into clear yellow on 

 middle of breast and abdomen. Imm.\ture Male: 

 Similar in coloration to adult females, but larger. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Typical nesting site is in 

 a yucca, about 5 feet up, near water ; semi-pensile, 

 rarely pensile ; woven of grass, yucca threads, horse- 

 hair, and cotton waste, and lined with fine grass and a 

 felt-like down. Eggs: 2 to 4, marked with blotches and 

 spots of purplish-black, generally without zig-zag lines. 



Distribution. — Southwestern United States, Lower 

 California, and Mexican plateau; north to western 

 Te.xas, New Mexico, Arizona, southern Utah, southern 

 Nevada, and southern California. 



