Birds of Pennsylvania. 173 



forming a wing-bar; secondaries and sometimes primaries, edged with whitish or 

 pale chestnut. Adult female — Above yellowish olive, darkest on back, clearest on 

 head, tail and rump ; below light olive yellow ; wings dusky, with two bars of white. 

 Young viale in late summer and autumn similar to female, though somewhat larger. 

 I have never seen young males in spring without some black feathers on throat or 

 loral space, or som,e chestnut colored feathers, and I have taken young males when 

 just able to fly with a few black feathers on chin and throat — Warren, Young tnale 

 in spring — Similar to female, but with face and throat black. From this last de- 

 scribed condition males are found in all stages vmtil the full adult plumage is as- 

 sumed. The chestnut and blactk appears in streaks and patches. A young male 

 {nine m,ontlis old) now before me, is in full adult plumage, with the following ex- 

 ceptions : Occiput and crown with a few dark yellowish feathers ; feathers of lower 

 hind neck and inter-scapular region deep black but edged with rusty ; a few yellow 

 feathers mixed with the light chestnut of abdomen ; sides slightly tinged with yel- 

 lowish which is generally on tips of chestnut feathers ; edge of wing yellow and 

 chestnut; middle coverts of one wing margined with greenish j^ellow, on the other 

 wing these feathers same as in adult ; greater coverts (both wings) edged with pale 

 chestnut — Warren. Length, about? inches; extent, about 10 Inches ; female trifle 

 smaller. 



Hab. — United States, west to the plains, south, in winter, to Panama. 



The Orchard Oriole, as its vernacular name would indicate, is a 

 common inhabitant of orchards, particularly apple orchards. 



Late in April or early in May, usually a few days after the shrill 

 notes of the Baltimore Oriole have been heard, the subject of this 

 present sketch arrives from his winter retreats in tropical America. 

 This species appears to arrive singly or in pairs, the males come at 

 least two or three days before the females. The Orchard Oriole is of 

 a rather shy disposition, and although he is a common frequenter 

 of the fruit and -shade trees — both in town and country — he prefers 

 to shelter his body in the thickest portion of the leafy branches, from 

 which his peculiar — somewhat harsh and rattling though not un- 

 musical — notes are frequently heard when the vivacious little min- 

 strel is entirely hidden from view. Sometimes, however, he will, 

 like the Indigobird or Brown Thrush, perch on the topmost limbs 

 and sing with the greatest energy. As soon as the young are hatched 

 his rapid and confused song ceases. The firm and somewhat long-cup- 

 shaped nest, constructed of fine green-grass stems most beautifully 

 interwoven and lined on the bottom with downy substances, is usually 

 placed among the upright twigs of an apple, pear or maple limb. 

 When such a sight is selected the nest is not pensile ; on two occasions, 

 however, I have found nests which were suspended from small bifur- 

 cated branches. The nests before the eggs are hatched have an odor 

 similar to that of new hay. The eggs, mostly five, are bluish- white, 

 indistinctly dotted with bluish-gray, and conspicuously spotted (some- 

 times lined) with brown and black. They measure about .86 hy .58. 

 In the late summer, preparatory to migrating south, these birds collect 

 in flocks * of from fifteen to thirty, seldom more, and are frequently 



♦These tiocks, T think, are composed entirely of young of the first year. 



