756 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



Oriole. A family of birds which inhabit 

 Southern Asia, the Malay Islands, Africa, and 

 Australia, while one species, the Golden Oriole. 

 is a summer visitant to Central Kurope, and, 

 during the period of migration, is occasionally 

 observed in England. The male of this species 

 is of great beauty, having a brilliant yellow 

 body and black wings and tail. The female is 

 much plainer, being of a greenish hue, streaked 

 with dusky lines. It is about the size of the 

 common thrush. The name Oriole is also ap- 

 plied to several American birds, of which the 

 Baltimore Oriole, a bin I ranging from Canada 

 to Mexico, is a well-known example. It has the 

 head, throat, wings, and upper back black; the 

 lower back and all the under parts bright orange, 

 deepening into vermilion on the breast. 



Ostrich. A family of birds, belonging to 

 the order Struthintu x ; having a raft-like sternum 

 nd consequently not possessing 

 the power of flight. The ostriches are contained 

 in two genera, which are sometimes considered 

 as distinct families. The genus Struthio com- 

 prises the true ostriches, which inhabit the 

 desert regions of Northeast and South Africa, 

 and of Arabia and Syria. The other genus, 

 contains the three species of ostriches 

 (of which the Xandu is one), inhabiting South 

 America from Patagonia to Brazil. The os- 

 triches, of which there are two species, are 

 generally found in small companies; they are 

 polygamous, each male accompanying three 

 or four females, all of which deposit their eggs 

 in a single large nest scooped out in the sand; 

 all the hens sit and relieve each other by turns, 

 the male also taking his turn and assisting in 

 the incubation of the eggs. The Rheas are 

 distinguished by possessing three toes, whilst the 

 ostriches have only two; the head and neck 

 are fully feathered, and there is no tail visible. 

 Their habits are similar to those of the African 

 birds, but they do not attain to the stature of 

 the latter, and their feathers are not of such 

 beauty. 



O\vl. The popular name applied to the 

 species of birds formerly regarded as a division 

 of the falcon tribe. This order is a sharply- 

 defined one. The head is extremely large; the 

 eyes huge and directed forward; the bill short 

 and stout; the apertures of the ears very large; 

 the legs feathered; the toes four in number, 

 the outer one capable of being directed back- 

 wards. The plumage is full and remarkably 

 soft, the feathers of the face being so arranged 

 as to form two discs around the eyes. The owls 

 are cosmopolitan in their distribution, ranging 

 over the whole of the globe from the highest 

 northern latitudes, and are even found in the 

 remotest oceanic islands. They feed on small 

 mammals, birds, fishes, and insects, swallowing 

 the hair, bones, feathers, and scales, which they 

 afterwards disgorge in the shape of "pellets." 

 Their flight is buoyant and noiseless. They 

 place their nests on, the ground, among rocks, 

 in hollow trees, and in buildings, while some 

 resort to the old nests of other birds. They lay 

 from two to five roundish white eggs. 



Oyster. A well-known edible shell-fish. 

 The oyster particularly when eaten raw, is easy 

 of digestion, and remarkably nutritious. The 



principal breeding-time of the common oyster 

 is in April or May. when their spawn is usually 

 cast; this appears at first like little spots of 

 <:rea<e. which fasten upon rocks, stones, or other 

 hard substances that happen to be near. Very 

 commonly they adhere to adult shells; ;ind thus 

 are formed the larire masses termed utixtcr-hdnkx. 

 In about a year and a half they attain a si/e fit 

 for the table. 



Palms. A large and important order of 

 plants, which are chiefly trees, often of great 

 height. They have simple (rarely-brancned) 

 trunks, marked with scars, which indicate the 

 attachment of former leaves. The leaves are 

 usually either feather-shaped or fan-shaped, 

 arranged in a crown at the summit of the stem, 

 and often of gigantic size. The flowers are com- 

 monly male and female, and small, but, when 

 taken collectively, their bright clusters form a 

 striking object. The palms are mostly natives 

 of the tropics, and form one of the most striking 

 characteristics of tropical vegetation. The only 

 European species is the Fan Palm. The proper- 

 ties of the palms are various. The fruits of some 

 are edible, as the cocoa-nut palm and the date 

 j palm, and form an important item of food in the 

 ! countries where they grow. Many supply oils, 

 wax, starchy matter, and sugar, from which an 

 intoxicating beverage is obtained by fermenta- 

 tion and distillation. The palm of the Bible 

 appears to be the date palm. The cocoa-nut 

 palm is one of the most important of the family. 

 Betel-nut is the produce of a palm of the genus 

 Areca; and sago is also obtained from the stem 

 of a palm. The Palmyra palm of the East Indies 

 is chiefly important for its timber, which is very 

 hard, heavy, and of a black color. 



Panther. A carnivorous animal measur- 

 ing about six feet and a half from nose to tail, 

 which is itself about three feet long. It differs 

 from the leopard chiefly by its superior size and 

 deeper color. The manner it seizes its prey, 

 lurking near the sides of woods, etc., and darting 

 forward with a sudden spring, resembles that of 

 the tiger. The puma, or cougar, is sometimes 

 | called the American panther. 



Parrot. The name applied in a general 

 sense to all the members of the order Psittaci, 

 which comprises the parrots proper, the cocka- 

 toos, parroquets, macaws, lories, nestors, etc. 

 The true parrots have the upper mandible 

 toothed, and longer than it is high, and have a 

 short and rounded tail. These birds combine 

 with the beauty of their plumage a nature of 

 great docility, and have the faculty of imitating 

 the human voice in a degree not possessed by 

 other birds. They are found chiefly in Africa, 

 from whence we get the Grey Parrot, which is 

 the favorite; South America, which is particu- 

 larly rich in species, furnishes the well-known 

 Green Parrot; and North America is the home 

 of a single species, the Carolina Parrot. The 

 parrots are forest birds, and are adepts at climb- 

 ing, using for that purpose both the feet and the 

 bill. Their food consists of seeds and fruits. 



Partridge. A well-known bird of the 

 grouse family. The common partridge is the 

 most plentiful of all game-birds in Britain, and 

 occurs in nearly all parts of Europe, in North 

 Africa, and in some parts of Western Asia. The 



