THE BALTLMORE ORIOLE. 

 Icterus Baltimore. — Bonaparte. 



Description. — Colfir of the shoulders, 

 rump, lateral tail featliers, breast anil 

 belly bright orange ; head, back, wings, 

 middle tail feathers and chin black ; wing 

 feathers and coverts slightly edged with 

 white on their outer webs ; bill bluisli 

 horn color; legs, feet and nails brownish ; 

 iris hazel. In the female and young tlie 

 orange is pale, and the parts wliich are 

 black in the male are grayish; tail even ; 

 hind toe and nail strongest ; bill very 

 acute ; 2d and :5d primaries equal and 

 longest. Length of the specimen before 

 me 7 inches; folded wing, 4|. 



History. — Tiie Baltimore Oriole, or 

 Golden Rohin, as he is here more common- 

 Iv called, is one of our most gay and live- 

 ly birds. It arrives in Vermont in tlie 

 early part of May, and about the begin- 

 ning of June may be seen busily engaged 

 in the construction of its nest. For this 

 purpose they usually select a flexible 

 branch of a tree standing on the side of a 

 gentle declivity. The nest is suspended 

 from this by strings or threads in the form 

 of a pendulous cylindrical pouch 5 or (j 

 inches in depth. The exterior is formed 

 of strings, strips of bark and other fibrous 

 substances, and the interior lined with 

 grass, moss, wool, hair or downy sub- 

 stances. The eggs are usually 4 or 5 in 

 number. They are white with a faint 

 tinge of blue, and are usually marked 

 at the large end with irregular brownish 

 lines and spots. The period of incubation, 

 according to Audubon, is 14 days, and 

 the same pair frequently rear two broods 

 in a season. Though shy and suspicious, 

 they seem to prefer building their nests 

 upon the high trees in the open land by 

 the side of roads and about farm-houses. 

 They feed their young principally with 

 soft caterpillars, and the male and female 

 both unite in this labor. The food of the 

 old birds consists mostly of caterpillars 

 and insects of different kinds. They are 

 also fond of cherries, currants and straw- 



berries, but do not often commit depreda- 

 tions upon these fruits in our gardens. 

 They are thought to possess an extraor- 

 dinary relish for green peas, as they some- 

 times attack those growing in our gar- 

 dens. They split open the pod without 

 detaching it from the vine, and, as is gen- 

 erally supposed, for the purpose of obtain- 

 ing the young and tender peas. But Mr. 

 Peabody informs us that it has been as- 

 certained by Dr. Harris, that the Oriole 

 opens the pods not for the sake of the 

 peas, but for the grub of the pea-bug ; and 

 that instead of mischief, he is perform- 

 ing a service, for which he is more de- 

 serving of gratitude than reproach. Al- 

 though we have several birds which oc- 

 casionally do a little mischief in our fields 

 and gardens, it is at least doubtful wheth- 

 er we have any which would not be found 

 to be beneficial rather than otherwise, 

 were their history fully known. From 

 its manner of building, this bird is often 

 called ho Hang Bird, or Hang J\'cst. 



THE RED-WINGED BLACK-BIRD. 

 Icterus phccuiccus. — Daud. 



Description. — Color of the mule rich 

 glossy black, with the exception of the 

 lesser wing coverts, in which the lower 

 row of feathers is of a buff orange color 

 tipped with white, and the rest of a bright 

 scarlet ; legs, feet and bill glossy black, 

 the latter an elongated, straight, sharp- 

 pointed cone, slightly flattened in front ; 

 iris hazel ; tail rounded, reaching 2 inches 

 beyond the folded wings. Length of the 

 specimen before me 9 inches, the folded 

 wintT 5 inches, spread of the wings 13^ 

 inches. The female is considerably smal- 

 ler than the male, and her general color 

 dull reddish brown. Tiie lesser wing 

 coverts usually exhibit something of the 

 reddish and orange hue, but seldom, if 

 ever, is the bright scarlet observed in the 

 female. 



History. — This singularly marked bird 

 usually arrives in Vermont early in April, 

 and takes up its residence in flocks in the 

 marshes and swamps. Here they com- 

 mence buildinjT their nests about the mid- 



