146 GOLDEN ORIOLE. 



hatched. In Scotland its occurrences have been few, and mostly in 

 the southern districts ; but one is recorded from Lerwick, Shetland, 

 in October 1882, and one from Sanday, Orkney, in ]\Iay 1893. Fo^ 

 Ireland about forty are on record ; the majority from cos. Waterford 

 and Cork, but several from the north and west. 



The Golden Oriole is a mere wanderer to the south of Sweden, 

 and is only known to have visited Heligoland once in the last fifty 

 years ; but it breeds in South Finland, and in Russia rather further 

 north than St. Petersburg. In the rest of Europe it is a common 

 species during the summer, except in the eastern half of the 

 Mediterranean basin, where it is better known as a migrant. East- 

 ward it is found in Asia — north of the great mountain ranges — as 

 far as Irkutsk ; but in the Indian region it is represented by 

 O. kuadoo, in the adult male of which the black loral streak extends 

 behind the eye, and the outer tail-feathers are entirely yellow. In 

 North Africa the Golden Oriole breeds sparingly, but winters 

 regularly ; its migrations extending to South Africa. As a straggler 

 it has been found in Madeira and the Azores ; also in the Faroes, 

 in May 1893 ; but Kjaerbolling's assertion that one was picked up 

 dead in the north of Iceland in December 1S43, is incredible. 



The nest is placed in, and suspended from, the horizontal fork of 

 a small branch of some tree — frequently an oak or fir — in a shady 

 grove or thick wood, and is made of strips of pliable bark, wool, 

 slender grass stems &c., carefully woven together; the 4-5 eggs 

 are glossy white, blotched with reddish-purple: measurements 1-2 

 by "84 in. Although fond of shade, the Oriole is not a shy bird, and 

 often breeds in the gardens of large towns. Its food consists of 

 insects and their larvae, the young birds being principally fed on 

 caterpillars ; but fruits, especially cherries, are also eaten. The 

 French name ' Loriot ' indicates the flute-like call of the male ; the 

 alarm-note being a harsh khrr. 



Adult male : most of the plumage golden-yellow ; lores black ; 

 quills and wing-coverts black, tipped and margined with yellowish- 

 white ; tail-feathers yellow at the tips and black at the bases, except 

 the central pair which are mostly black ; bill dull red ; iris bright 

 red ; legs lead-grey. Length 9*5 in. ; wing 6 in. I have tried in 

 vain to obtain any proof of Blyth's theory that the mature female 

 assumes the plumage of the adult male ; she certainly has a blackish 

 loral streak, but the yellow is far less intense than in the male, and 

 the under parts are striated with greyish, while in less mature birds 

 the upper parts are merely greenish-yellow. The young are duller in 

 colour than the female. 



