370 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



distinctly, and with an energy which, hardly can be 

 surpassed, will express a portion of its truly 

 remarkable ditty: tivche-che-che-che, varied occa- 

 sionally by fwdh-fwdk-cJie-che-che-che-che. 



The food of the Orchard Oriole is almost'exclu- 

 sjvely insects, of which it devours immense num- 

 bers; particularly those kinds which perpetrate 

 immense mischief in preying upon the fruit and 

 foliage of trees. For the incalculable amount of 

 good which they accomplish, they are general 

 favorites among husbandmen, and wherever pro- 

 tected, show their appreciation of this good-will by 

 their presence and familiarity. They are wholly 

 innocent of injury to crops, and we know of only 

 one instance where accusations have been pre- 

 ferred against them. At a meeting of the Phila- 

 delphia Academy of Natural Sciences held June 

 2, 1874, Mr. Thomas Meehan stated "that he was 

 not familiar with latest knowledge in ornithology, 

 that not being a special study with him; but if 

 Wilson's Ornithology contained all that was known 

 of the habits of the Orchard Oriole O.riolus 

 mutatus he might say that the bird did not con- 

 fine itself solely to insect-food. He had on his 

 grounds a large specimen of the Staphylca trifolia, 

 which, when in bloom, was a favorite resort with 

 bumblebees and humming-birds, and the Oriole 

 took its share of honey from the. flowers as well. 

 It did not rest on the wing as the humming-bird 

 did, but sought a lower branch from which it could 

 leisurely extract the sweets. from the flowers above, 



