468 LIFE niSTOlMES OF NOKTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



had all been used tor food. I saw, however, the heads, wings, and feathers of 

 several specimens, and think that the birds are undoubtedly the same as the one 

 brought me by John Goffiiey on May 17 of last year, that it is an Oriole I do 

 not doubt. 



'"On showing the specimen killed on June 3, 1893, to Mr. Allen Mehle, on 

 the 14th of the same month, he told me that a flock of about two hundred of 

 these birds came to his place at Mississippi City, Mississippi, in July, 1892, and 

 remained there for some time. Numbers of them were killed and several were 

 sent to a taxidermist in New Orleans, but he did not know his name. He is 

 ])Ositive it is the same bird, and as no one knew what they were, he had some 

 mounted.'" 



In his letter of September 12, 1893, Mr. Mcllhenny writes me as follows: 

 "I showed the skin to Capt. Jim Hare, of the Trinity Shoal light-sliip, before I 

 sent it to you, and he told me that two birds of exactly the same appearance 

 had struck the light and had been killed this spring, in April. His ship is 60 

 miles out to sea and due south of here. Captain Hare tells me that he often 

 sees large flocks of small l)irds flying high in the air during their migrations." 



In a more recent letter Mr. E. A. Mcllhenny sent me some additional 

 information on this species, taken from his field notes. Under date of June 3, 

 1894, he says: "While in search of nests to-day near the salt mine, I saw a 

 male 1 of the large Oriole I found here last year; I had a good view of him, 

 being quite near, but unfortunately had no gun." Under date of June 16 he 

 made the following entry: "Derouin told me to-day that he had seen about 

 twenty of the large Orioles (like those he killed last year) in a field, and his 

 father, who had also seen them, confirmed his statement, but I failed to find 

 them. I off'ered him a reward then for every one he brought me in good con- 

 dition, but a few days after this I left for Greenland. On my return here, 

 October 1, 1 found that five of these birds had been killed by this party, as near 

 as I could learn, about August 20, and were brought to my house; but as no 

 one there could skin them, they were tin-own away." 



The fact that these birds have now been seen regularly on Avery's Island, 

 Louisiana, for several seasons and throughout the summer, certainly indicates 

 that they are not casual stragglers, but regular summer residents, and probably 

 breed there, and possibly also along the Gulf coast of Texas. 



The only description of the egg of this species I have been able to find is 

 that published by Mr. R. Owen in "The Ibis" (Vol. Ill, 1861, pp. 62, 63), who 

 took a female and one egg near San Geronimo, Guatemala, on June 8, 1860. 

 The egg is described as a pale gray, blotched and streaked with very dark 

 brown; it measures 1 by 0.70 inch. 



The nest probably resembles that of Audubon's Oriole, but I have been 

 unable to find a description of it. 



