186 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Icterus melanoceplialus, var. auduboni, Giraud. 



AUDUBON'S ORIOLE. 



Icterus auduboni, Giraud, Sixteen New Species Texas Birds, 1841 (not paged). — Baird, 

 Birds N. Am. 1858, 542. — Cassin, Pr. A. N. S. 1867, 53. Xantliornus melanocepha- 

 lus, Bon. Consp. 1850, 434 (not the description of the young). Icterus melanocephahts, 

 Cassin, 111. I, v, 1854, 137, pi. xxi (the description, but perhaps not the figure). 



Sp. Char. Bill stout; upper and lower outlines very little curved downwards. Tail 

 much graduated. Head and neck all round (this color extending down on the throat), 

 tail, and wings black ; rest of body, under wing-coverts, and middle and lesser upper 

 coverts, yellow ; more olivaceous on the back. An interrupted band across the ends of 

 the greater wing-coverts, with the terminal half of the edges of the quills, white. Sup- 

 posed female similar, but the colors less vivid. Length, 9.25; wing, 4.00; tail, 4.65; 

 tarsus, 1.10. 



Hab. Valley of the Lower Rio Grande of Texas, southward ; Oaxaca (Scl. 1859, 38) ; 

 Xalapa (Scl. 132) ; Vera Cruz (temperate regions; Sumichrast, M. B. S.). 



This bird is perhaps rather a local race (larger as more boreal) of /. 

 melanocephahts^ of Southern Mexico. The differences are indicated in the 

 foot-note. 



The adult male of this species can be distinguished from the young male 

 of /. prosthemclas only by stouter and less decurved bill, stronger feet, and 

 black instead of yellow middle wing-coverts. 



Habits. This handsome and rather recent addition to our fauna is a 

 Northern Mexican species, which extends north to the valley of the Eio 

 Grande and into Texas, from various localities in wliich it has been procured. 

 Lt. D. N. Couch, who found this species common from the Lower Eio Grande 

 to the Sierra Madre, speaks of the strong mutual attachment shown by the 

 sexes. He describes its song as soft and melancholy, and the notes as re- 

 sembling peut-jjou-it The sweetness of its notes renders it a favorite as a 

 caged bird. In the State of Vera Cruz this bird is given by Sumichrast as 

 inhabiting the temperate regions, and as there having exclusively their centre 

 of propagation. They are very common in the district of Orizaba, where they 



1 Icterus melanocephalus, Gray. Psarocolius melnnoccjihalus, Waolei!, Isis, 1829, 756. 

 Icterus imlanocephalus. Gray, Genera. —Sclater, Pr. Zoiil. Soc. 18.58, 97. — Cassin, Pr. A. 

 N. S. 1867, -53. — Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 543. Xanthornus melanoceplialus, Bon. Consp. 

 1850, 434 (description of young only). ? Icterus graduacaucla. Lesson, Rev. Zool. 1839, 105. 



Sp. Char. Similar to /. auduboni, but without any white whatever on the wing. Head and 

 neck all round, wings, scapulars, and tail, uniform pure black. Rest of body, including in- 

 side of wing and tibia and the lesser wing-coverts, orange-yellow ; clouded with olivaceous- 

 green on the back, less so on the rump. Bill and legs plumbeous, the fomier whitish at base. 

 Length, 7.70 ; wing, 3.75 ; tail, 4.80. Hab. Warm parts of Mexico. 



Very like the auduboni, but smaller, the bill much stouter, shorter, and the culinen more 

 curved. The third (piill is longest ; the fourth, fifth, and second successively a little shorter ; 

 the first and seventh about equal. The black of the head and neck comes farther beliind and 

 on the sides than in auduboni. Tlie wings are totally destitute of the white edges of (piills and 

 coverts as seen in auduboni, and the middle coverts are black instead of pure yellow. The tail, 

 too, is entirely black. 



