354 



General Notes. 



type species, and it was not properly set forth by him until July, 1S25 

 (Zool. Journ., II, 149). Meanwhile, Temminck (PI. Col., livr. 56, March, 

 1825, pi. 334) had applied it to a genus of Muscicapidae, thus blocking 

 its further use as a Swainsonian name. Consequently, Mr. Oberholser 

 adopted Drymophila to supersede Philetitoma, which course would have 

 been perfectly proper, had not Mr. Geo. Such described a Drymophila 

 variegata in Jan., 1S25 (Zool. Journ., I, 559), which fixed the name, and 

 invalidated its use for Temminck's genus. Philetitoma will thus remain 

 the proper term for the genus established by Eyton, and Drymophila 

 Such {ex Swains.) will become valid as the name of the genus now 

 called Formicivora (Swains., July, 1825, nee Formicivorus Temm., 1S07). 

 Prof. Newton has recently noted the untenability of Formicivora (Diet. 

 Birds, 1S93, 2 °» footnote), and suggested Eriodora Gloger, 1827, as 

 apparently the correct name of the genus. It will be seen from the 

 above, however, that the genus should stand as Drymophila, with the 

 following species : 



Drymophila grisea (Bodd.), D. intermedia (Cab.), D. rufatra (Lafr. 

 & D'Orb.), D. strigilata (Max.), D. speciosa (Salv.), D. ferruginea 

 (Licht.), D. striata (Spix), D. caudata (Scl.), D. genei (De Fil.), D. 

 malum (Temm.), D. squamata (Licht.), D. boucardi (Scl.), D. conso- 

 brina (Scl.), D. virgala (Lawr.), D. quixensis (Corn.), D. bicolor 

 (Pelz.). — Chas. W. Richmond, Washington, D. C. 



New Song of the Baltimore Oriole.— I wish to call the attention of 

 the readers of 'The Auk' to a seemingly new song which a number 

 of Baltimore Orioles {Icterus galbida) have acquired. The Orioles sing- 

 ing it are abundant in and about Prides Crossing and Beverly Farms, 

 Mass., though similar singers elsewhere have been reported only from 

 South Berwick, Maine. 



The new song is as follows : 



The three notes, D, A, D, are whistled in a robust, bold, loud quality, 

 noticeably coarser and firmer than the quality of other Oriole songs. 

 The notes are invariable both in tempo, tune and rhythm ; except that 

 sometimes a grace note on A precedes the first D, or sometimes the first 

 D is omitted; this apparently when the bird is in a hurry or nervous, or 

 the A may be a trifle sharped. The succeeding sixteenth notes, which 

 constitute the remarkable part of the performance, are indeterminate in 

 pitch, and are spoken to the syllables : chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck, etc., 

 perhaps five or seven times iterated. 



