ORIOLES 91 



They nest during December in holes in trees, laying 

 four pale blue eggs spotted with pale brown. 



ORIOLES. 



The Family Oriolidce is represented in South Africa 

 by four species, one of which (Oriolus notatus), though 

 coming as far South as the Northern Transvaal, is scarce 

 and little known, while the other (0. auratus) has only 

 recently been added to the South African Fauna by 

 Alexander, who met with it in the Zambesi Valley. 



Of the remaining two species, the Golden Oriole of 

 Europe (0. galbuld) is a fairly scarce visitor to South 

 Africa, being recorded, amongst other places, from 

 Pondoland, by Sergeant Davies, C.M.B. ; Damaraland by 

 Andersson ; Rustenburg (Barratt) ; Irene (L. E. Taylor) 

 and Hartebeest Poort (Haagner), both the last Pretoria 

 District. 



The last member of the family is the Black-headed 

 Oriole (0. larvatus), easily distinguished from the Golden 

 Oriole by its black head and throat. This bird is fairly 

 common in the Albany and Bathurst Divisions of the 

 Eastern Province, where it is often known as the Yellow 

 Spreeuw. During the winter months it affects the neigh- 

 bourhood of gardens and populated areas, betaking itself 

 in September to the outskirts of the Bush and com- 

 mencing to build in October. 



It constructs a cup-shaped nest of Ptylandsia (Old 

 Man's Beard Moss), and generally deposits three eggs of 

 a creamy-white ground, sparsely marked with purplish- 

 brown. 



Although usually very wild, one of these birds once 

 allowed a camera to be fixed to a bough within a few 



