164 BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 



Thus the Eobin is not a Eobin but a true Thrush, 

 the Meadowlark is not a Lark but a Starling, and the 

 Orioles are not Orioles at all, but members of a distinc- 

 tively American family having no representatives in the 

 Old World. This family contains one hundred and fifty 

 species, of which nearly one third belong in the genus 

 Icterus. The prevailing colors of the birds of this genus 

 are orange and black, hence their resemblance to the true 

 Orioles (genus Oriolus) of the Old World. 



Our Baltimore Oriole is a worthy representative of a 



group remarkable for its l)right colors. It is to these 



Baltimore Oriole same colors that the bird owes not only 



Mtrus (jaibuia. its generic but its specific designation, 



riate XXXV. orange and black being the livery of 

 Lord Baltimore, after whom the bird was named. 



The Baltimore Oriole, or, as it is also called, Firebird, 

 Golden Robin, or Hangnest, winters in Central America, 

 and in the spring reaches the latitude of New York city 

 about May 1. I always look for it when the cheriy trees 

 burst into blossom, and at no other time does its beauti- 

 ful plumage appear to better advantage than when seen 

 against a background of white flowers. To the charm of 

 beauty it adds the attraction of song, a rich, ringing 

 whistle, which can be more or less successfully imitated, 

 when the bird immediately responds, challenging the 

 supposed trespasser on his domain. 



The Baltimore's nest is a bag about five inches deep 

 and three inches in diameter, woven of plant-fibers, 

 thread, etc., and suspended from the terminal portion of 

 a limb, generally of an elm tree. The four to six eggs 

 are white, singularly scrawled with fine black lines, and 

 with a few spots or blotches. 



The Orchard Oriole is neither so common nor so 

 gayly dressed as his brilliantly colored relative, and, being 

 fonder of orchards than lawns and elm-shaded highways, 



