486 



REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



sought after it is on account of its docility, and for the ease with 

 which it is taught to speak. 



The Orioles (Xanthornis] have the bill broad at the base, nearly 

 conical and pointed ; the upper mandible has the dorsal. line slightly 

 arched, the ridge narrow, the sides flat and sloping. They are 

 chiefly American birds, and have considerable resemblance in form 

 and habit to the European starlings. Like them they are sprightly, 

 light, and very rapid on the wing, and they live together in large 



Fig. 202. The Baltimore Oriole. 



flocks throughout the year, feeding on seeds, berries, and especially 

 insects, and frequently committing ravages on cultivated fields 

 and orchards. Some of this genera exhibit remarkable industry 

 and skill in the construction of their nests, particularly the Balti- 

 more Oriole (Yphantes baltimore, Fig. 202), which constructs a 

 kind of purse, about a yard in length and a foot in diameter, 

 the mouth or entrance being placed sometimes at the upper ex- 

 tremity, sometimes on the side. Naturalists have subdivided 

 them into many smaller groups or genera, the most important 

 being the one here described, and which may well be taken as an 

 example. 



The Beef-eaters (Buphagus africana, Fig. 203) owe their name to 



