GOLDEN ORIOLE. 105 



having only about a third of its basal length black. 

 The female above is of a yellowish-green, shading 

 on the sides of the neck and breast into yellow- 

 ish-white, which covers all the under parts, 

 becoming pale yellow on the flanks and under 

 tail coverts, and nearly pure white in the centre 

 of the belly, in all relieved with narrow brownish 

 streaks along the shaft of each feather. The 

 black mark between the rictus and the eye is 

 indicated by ash gray ; the wings are brownish- 

 black, shaded with ash gray, and a tinge of 

 yellowish-green on the greater covers, having 

 the quills edged with a broader margin of grayish- 

 white ; the tail is yellowish-green at the base, 

 becoming gradually darker towards the junction 

 with the yellow, where it is almost black; the 

 distribution of the yellow is nearly similar to that 

 in the male, but the dark extends on the outer 

 webs nearer the tips, and causes the separation 

 of the colours to appear more irregular. 



SYLVIAD.E. 



We next enter a family of smaller species, 

 abounding in numbers, and extremely interesting, 

 whether we regard the modifications of their 

 form, or the manner in which many of them 

 become familiarized and associated with man in 

 his outdoor occupations. A very great propor- 

 tion of our native members are migratory, and 

 they change, during the spring and summer 



