232 INS ECTIVO ROUS BIRDS 



ORIOLE, 



Oriolus viridis, Lath. 



0-rl'olus vir'i-ditt. 

 Aureolus, golden ; viridu'!, green. 

 Oriolus yiridis, Gould, "Birds of Australia,"' fol., vol. iv., pi. 13. 

 Geographical Distribution.— Areas 3, 4. 



Key to the Species. — Breast streaked ; abdomen white, broadly- 

 streaked with black ; upper surface olive, sometimes green ; 

 lores feathered ; bill with a notch in the upper mandible ; 

 nostrils placed well in front of the base of the bill and quite 

 bare ; iris scarlet. Total length, 10 inches. 



The two certain species of Orioles are found only on the 

 eastern coast of our continent ; one, the Northern species, 

 keeps to the upper half, and the other, the present form, 

 stays in the soutliern part. It is a fairly plentiful bird in 

 the eastern half of Victoria, and in size it is a shade larger 

 than the common Minah, or a little shorter than the Rosella. 

 I am not certain whether or not it leaves southern Victoria 

 during winter to get into warmer parts, though I have 

 known it to arrive in the Box Hill-Bayswater district in 

 advance of spring. Those of the upper part of New South 

 Wales appear also to winter there. The voice of the 

 Oriole is sometimes imitative of the Cuckoo-Shrike. It 

 pitches the first note in a higher key than the Cuckoo- 

 Shrike. Mr. Gould has had more experience of it than the 

 writer, as he observes : — " The note of this Oriole is melod- 

 ious and varied. It may often be seen perched on some 

 shady tree, with its head thrown back, thus showing to 

 perfection its mottled breast, and singing in a low tone 

 imitative of the notes of many birds, including the Zosterops^ 

 and particularly the black or fruit-eating Magpie. While 

 feeding, it frequently utters a harsh, guttural sort of squeak. 



