ICTERIDiE 



>63 



from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific. He 

 has a wholesome, rollicking song which goes 

 well with his dashing color. The orange coloring 

 is extremely heautiful in some individuals. The 

 male is not in his best dress until the third 

 or fourth year. Oftentimes you will see a male 

 that is not really brilliant or that has not attained 

 the orange hue. These are younger birds. 



I remember a story told to me several 

 years ago of a pair of Orioles that lived about 

 a eucalyptus grove in California. The male bird 

 was in such tine plumage that an ornithologist 

 shot him for his collection. The next day, the 

 female a])peared with a new mate who was as 



])air Iniilt in a eucalyptus tree and soon had a 

 family of young birds. This may be a remark- 

 able case of wooing and winning. It is rather 

 difficult to understand where the supply of male 

 birds came from unless the widow Oriole was 

 breaking up other families. 



\\'lI.I.I.\M I.. FiNLF.Y. 



The food habits of Bullock's Oriole differ in no 

 essentials from those of the Baltimore Oriole, 

 the ratio between the animal and vegetable por- 

 tions being practically the same. It is of interest 

 to note that among the bugs which it eats is to 

 he found the black-olive scale ; these amount to 



f^^ 



«^l^ 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher 



BULLOCK'S ORIOLE ti nat. size) 

 This is the beautiful Oriole of the West, a good singer and a clever nest builder 



bright and fine looking as the bird she had lost 

 the day before. This bird was shot also, jiartly 

 because he was in such fine plumage and partly 

 to see if the female would find another as easily. 

 Two days later, she appeared with a third hus- 

 band who went the way of the two former ones. 

 The female then disappeared for a few days, 

 but returned again with a fourth suitor. The 



nearly 7 per cent, of the bird's food for the year. 

 The major part of its vegetable food is fruit, 

 especially in June and July, when it often eats 

 more cherries and apricots than the owners of 

 the trees think is just. But it is probable that 

 no great harm is done to fruit crops, as the com- 

 plaints are not many. Injurious caterjjillars 

 form a large part of their vegetable food. 



RUSTY BLACKBIRD 

 Euphagus carolinus (MiJllcr) 



A. O. U. Number 509 i>ee Color Plate y3 



Other Names. — Rusty Crackle; Thrush Blackbird; 

 Rusty Oriole; Rusty Crow. 



General Description. — Length. 9 inches. Male, 

 black ; female, slate-colored. Bill, shorter than head, 



and narrow ; wing, long and pointed ; tail, nearly as 

 long as wing, moderately rounded. 



Color. — .^DULT Male in Summer; Uniform black. 

 faintly glossed with bluish green changing to dull 



