ORIOLES. 525 
some naturalists among Gallinaceous Birds ; but Temminck places it 
in his Insectivorous order, among the Thrushes, and between Cuculus 
and fitta. Cuvier places it among the Passerines. Vigors places it 
in the order Aasores, and in the family of the Cracide. This curious 
bird has a long compressed bill, triangular at the base. It owes its 
name to the peculiar disposition of its tail, which in the male has the 
exact form of a lyre. The singular development of the feathers of 
the tail is its chief attraction, for the plumage is dull and sombre in 
Fig. 236.—The Golden Oriole. 
colour. It inhabits forests; builds its nest in trees, a short distance 
from the ground; and feeds upon worms and insects, which it seeks 
for under the dried leaves on the surface of the soil. Its song is 
described as not unpleasant. 
The Onoles (Ovtolus) have the bill long, stout, nearly straight, 
rather broad at the base, the dorsal line arched, and the tarsi very 
short. They are found in all the warmer parts of the Old World 
and in the islands of Oceania. Their plumage is richly coloured, 
shades of yellow and black blending in great variety. 
The Golden Oriole (Oviolus galbula, Fig. 236) is about the size 
of the Blackbird, which it much resembles in form. ‘The plumage is 
of a bright yellow; the feathers are oblong, with disunited barbs ; 
