ICTERID^ 



255 



Thoufjh it ranges as far noriii as s(iuilu-rn 

 Utah and Nevada, Scott's Oriole is mostly a bird 

 of the Mexican border as far as its presence in 

 this country is concerned. In the great desert 

 canons of Texas, Arizona, and southern Cali- 

 fornia, its clear whistle, much like that of the 

 Meadowlark, is heard to good advantage with 

 the song of the Cactus Wren. 



Frequently these Orioles travel through the 



canons in groups of from six to a dozen, feeding 

 in the tree-tops. I)es])itc their plumage the birds 

 are often well concealed imder these conditions, 

 because their colors harmonize with the foliage. 

 Furthermore, they generally move through the 

 trees by clambering from limb to limb, rather 

 than by flight, so that their inovements are not 

 easy to detect. Their ])resence is betrayed, how- 

 ever, by the loud whistled call of the males. 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher 



SCOTT'S ORIOLE (! nat. size) 

 A brilliant lemon and black inhabitant of the desert canons 



SENNETT'S ORIOLE 



Icterus cucullatus 

 A. o. u. 



Other Name. — Sennett's Hooded Oriole. 



General Description. — Length, 8 inches. Fore and 

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

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

 length of wing. 



Color. — Adult M.\le: Lores, front portion of fore- 

 head, eye region, forward half of sides of head, cheeks, 

 chin, throat, and upper chest, uniform black, until a 

 rounded posterior outline on the chest ; back, shoulders, 

 and lesser wing-coverts, uniform black; middle wing- 

 coverts, white, producing a very broad white band ; 

 rest of wings, black, the outer webs of greater coverts 

 tipped with white, the primaries edged with grayish- 

 white ; tail, black, the lateral feathers margined at tips 

 with pale grayish ; rest of plumage, deep cadmium- 

 yellow, the color most intense on head, neck, and chest. 

 Adult Female: Crown, hindneck, rump, upper tail- 

 coverts, and tail, yellowish-olive, the back of head tinged 

 with dull brownish-gray ; back and shoulders, dull 



sennetti Ridgzvay 



Number 505 



brownish-gray ; lesser wing-coverts, brownish-gray, 

 more dusky centrally ; rest of wings, dusky with pale 

 brownish-gray edgings, the middle coverts broadly 

 tipped with white, and pale edgings to greater coverts 

 becoming white terminally ; beneath, gamboge-yellow, 

 paler on abdomen, strongly washed with grayish on 

 sides and flanks. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: A perfectly wrought cup- 

 shaped, semi-pensile or attached structure, placed in 

 clumps of Spanish moss, sycamores, oaks, figs, palms, 

 or yuccas; constructed mainly of materials similar to 

 tree in which located ; typical nests composed almost 

 entirely of Spanish moss ; others, fastened to bayonet 

 yucca points, constructed of fiber from edges of their 

 leaves. Eggs : 3 to 5, pale bluish-white, wreathed 

 around large end with brown spots and pencilings. 



Distribution. — Lower Rio Grande valley, Texas, and 

 Tamaulipas, Mexico ; winters south of the United 

 States to southern Mexico. 



