174 



Birds of Pennsylvania. 



to be seen flitting through the bushes and trees along the roadside or 

 about the borders of woods and clef^hgs. 



The food of this species consists chieily of insects. They destroy 

 great quantities of caterpillars, as well as other destructive larvae. 

 Immense numbers of noxious beetles, numerous plant-lice, many 

 spiders and flies are captured during their foraging expeditions in the 

 orchard, field and garden. " Rose-slugs," '' cabbage-worms " and 

 grasshoppers are eagerly devoured by Orchard Orioles. They subsist 

 to a small extent on soft fruits (strawberries, mulberries and raspber- 

 ries) when the same are in season, and occasionally feed on apple and 

 pear blossoms, their depredations, however, in these directions are 

 very unimportant. At a meeting of the Philadelphia Academy of 

 Natural Sciences, held June 2, 1874, Mr. Thomas Meehan, Botanist of 

 the State Board of Agriculture, stated, " that he was not familiar with 

 latest knowledge in ornithology, that not being a special study with 

 him ; but if Wilson's Ornithology contained all that was known of the 

 habits of the Orchard Oriole, he might say that the bird did not confine 

 itself solely to insect food. He had on his grounds a large specimen 

 of the Staphylea trifolia^* which, when in bloom, was a favorite re- 

 sort with bumblebees and Humming-birds, and the Oriole took its 

 share of honey from the flowers as well. It did not rest on the wing 

 as the Hummingbird did, but sought a lower branch from which it 

 could leisurely extract the sweets from the flowers above. He had 

 thought it possible that the bird was in search of insects among the 

 flowers, but a careful examination proved otherwisfe." — From Gen- 

 try's Life Histories of Birds. 



♦ American Bladder-nut. 



