MERULID.E. 



MERULID.E. 



entire ; inner to* rather shorter than the outer. Ex., P. monianut. 

 Timalia (Horsf.). Plumage lax. Bill straight, rather short, much 

 compressed; culmrn high and arched gradually ; tip olwolctely notched 

 or entire ; commissure curvet). Wing* abort, rounded. Tail more or 

 less lengthed, graduated. Feet strong ; lateral toes nearly equal 

 India, Australia, Africa. (Sw.) Ex. T. Ikoraciea. (' PL Col,' 76.) 



Pleroptofhiu (Kittlitz). Feet of extraordinary sire and thickness ; 

 all the anterior toes nearly equally long ; claws long, slender, slightly 

 ourred. Tail consulting of fourteen feathers, rounded and carried 

 erect Wings Trry short. Representing Mautra and Orthonyx. 

 Western tropical America only. (Sw.) Ex. P. ncgapoditu. (Kittl., 

 pL4; ' Zool,' III, ii. pi. 117.) 



Sub-Family Oriotiint, Orioles. Bill thrush-like, as long as the head, 

 broad at the base, compressed beyond ; the base and gape devoid of 

 bristles; nostrils naked, aperture large. Wings lengthened. Kuiop- 

 feathers thick. Lateral toes unequal (Sw.) 



ZtoMcooitu (Sw.). Habit and general structure of the Craleropm. 

 BUI lengthened, slender ; the cnlmen arched from the base ; the tip 

 hooked and notched ; nostrils large, naked, membranaceous ; the 

 aperture large, oral, terminal Wings remarkably short and rounded. 

 Tail moderate, broad, cuneated. Feet very large and strong ; lateral 

 toe* equal; claws slender, acute, slightly curved. America only. 

 (Sw.) Ex. D. TOci/erow ( Zool,' III, u. pi ~'2.) 



Sericuliu (Sw.). Bill rather stout, resembling that of Orioltw ; 

 nostrils naked. Wings moderate ; two first quills equally graduated ; 

 third nearly as long as the fourth. Tail moderate, even. Feet strong, 

 robust ; tarsus much longer than hind toe ; inner shortest. Australia. 

 (Sw.) Ex. & ckryKCtpkaiiu. (Lewin'a ' Birds of New South Wales,' 

 p.1.) 



OrtoliM (Linn.). Bill as long as the head, broad at the base ; tip 

 distinctly notched, and somewhat hooked ; nostrils short, nearly 

 naked ; aperture lateral, large, and oval Wings rather lengthened ; 

 first quill very short ; second not quite so long as the third, which is 

 generally the longest. Tarsus rather short, longer than the hind toe 

 and claw ; anterior scales divided. (Sw.) 



Woods and thickets are the haunts of the Orioles ; and there they 

 live in pairs, congregating however for their autumnal migration. 

 Their nests are very artificially framed, and constructed at the extre- 

 mities of the branches of high trees; insects, with different kinds of 

 berries and other soft fruits, form their food. The prevailing colour 

 of the plumage of the males is yellow, and this character is constant 

 in the greater number of species known. The females differ much 

 from the males, their plumage exhibiting greenish or tarnished yellow 

 tints ; and the young in early life always resemble the females. Their 

 moult is simple and ordinary. 



They are found in Asia, Africa, islands of the Indian Archipelago, 

 and southern and eastern Europe. 



0. galbtda, the Golden Oriole. This is supposed by Belon and others 

 to be the XAwpW of the Greeks; Galgvlut, Vireo, and OrMui of the 

 Romans, and the Piciu of which Pliny (book x. c. 33) speaks as suspend- 

 ing its nest on a twig of the topmost branches of a tree, after the manner 



r._ 





of a cup. It is the Becquafiga, Bruaola, Galbedro, Garbella, Giallone, 

 and Gravolo Gentile, of the Italians ; and Kigogolo Commune of the 

 ' Stor. degl Uoc.'; Turiol of the Spanish ; Loriot, Compere Loriot, and 

 Orio, of the French ; Gelbe lUche, Gelber Pirol, Der Pyrold, Wiedewal 

 &.C., of the Germans and Netherlander* ; Goutmerle of the Dutch ; 

 Witwall of Willughby and Ray ; and Fwyalchen Felen of the Welsh. 



Male. Golden yellow, a blackish brown spot between the eye and 

 the bill ; wings and tail black ; a yellow spot on the quills, not far 

 from the middle of the wing when closed ; and the tail-feathers termi- 

 nated with yellow ; bill reddish maroon ; iris red ; feet bluish gray. 

 Length rather more than 10 inches. Mr. Boy agrees with Mr. Tarrell 

 that the male does not obtain its brilliant yellow and black till the 

 third year. 



Female. Greenish olive above ; grayish white with a yellowish tint 

 below, where the plumage is marked by somewhat distant grayish 

 brown short stripes or dashes disposed longitudinally ; wings brown 

 bordered with olivaceous gray; tail olivaceous tinged with black; 

 yellowish beneath with a brownish black mark, somewhat in the form 

 of an irregular Y ; no dark streak behind the bill and the eye. 



The Young of the Year resemble the female ; but the longitudinal 

 stripes of the lower parts are more numerous and deeper in colour ; 

 bill blackish gray and iris brown. 



Variety, with block spots on a brilliant yellow ground. 



The Golden Oriole is, upon the whole, a shy bird, haunting lonely 

 groves and thickets on the skirts of woods, excepting in the fruit 

 season, when it always frequents orchards, to the no small loss of the 

 owner. It is difficult to get near them, though they are sometimes 

 approached by the sportsman under the deception of his imitative 

 Whistle ; but it requires great accuracy both of lips and ear to perform 

 this fraud, for the least mistake, or one false note, will send the bin) 

 off at once. The food consists of insects and their larva;, berries, and 

 fruits, among which figs, grapes, and cherries are favourites. The 

 whistle of the Oriole is loud but flute-like, and Bechstein expresses 

 the sound by tho word ' puhlo.' The cup, or rather saucer-shaped net, 

 is formed of wool and slender grass-stems, and placed in the fork of a 

 branch, usually towards its extremity. The old French quatrain 

 says: 



" On clit qu'un homme one le nid nc troura, 

 Du Loriot, lequel ne fust pcndu, 

 A un ramcau, aural ct smpendu, 

 Voyli pourquoy ce dire on controuTa." 





Golden Orlota (Orioltu fallnila'). 

 Lower flfurr, mile ; upper flgurc, female. 



Neat of Golden Oriole (Ofiolun gatbula 



The eggs are generally four or five, purplish white with a few ash- 

 gray and claret spots ; and the female watches over them with such 

 maternal care, that it is said she will suffer herself to be taken rather 

 than abandon them. In this country nests have been taken in Suffolk 

 and Norfolk. 



This bird is found in Sweden, where it occasionally breeds ; some 

 of the districts of Russia, Germany, Holland) France, Spain, and Italy ; 

 Malta (on the southward migration to Africa), Greece, Egypt, Tunis, 

 Tripoli, and the whole north coast of Africa ; Trebizond and Smyrna. 

 In a note to Pennant's ' British Zoology,' by J. L., it is stated that it 

 is common in India under tho name of Pilluck or Peeluck, and that 

 drawings of both sexes were sent from Oude to Lord Valentia ; but 

 these were probably specimens of 0. aurcta so often received from 

 India, a species which, though in some degree like tho 0. galbula, is 

 distinct from it. 



In our own country the Golden Oriole has been found in Ham: 

 Devonshire, Cornwall, near Manchester, near Lancaster, near Walton 

 in Surrey, and near Godalming, at Cheshnut (Herts), near Saxmundlmm 

 in Suffolk, in Norfolk, at Tynemouth in Durham, and in South Wales. 

 It has been seen, though rarely, in Ireland, but never, as far as we 

 can learn, in Scotland. 



The bird can only be considered as an occasional summer visitor in 

 Britain, where it first appears in April, returning in September. Prince 



