348 



ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



None of this species are to be found in New England after 

 the 1st of September : they leave in small, scattered flocks, 

 consisting of the old and young birds of a family. 



ICTERUS BALTIMORE. Daudin. 

 The Baltimore Oriole; Golden Robin; Hang-nest. 



Oriolus Baltimore, Linnaeus. Syst. Nat., I. (1766) 162. Wils. Am. Orn., I. 

 (1808) 23. 



" Icterus Baltimore, Daudin." Aud. Orn. Biog., I. (1831) 66; V. (1839) 278. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Tail nearly even ; head all round and to middle of back, scapulars, wings, and 

 upper surface of tail, black ; rest of under parts, rump, upper tail coverts, and lesser 

 wing coverts, with terminal portion of tail feathers (except two innermost), orange- 

 red; edges of wing quills, with a band across the tips of the greater coverts, 

 white. 



The female is much less brilliant in color; the black of the head and back gene- 

 rally replaced by brownish-yellow, purer on the throat; each feather with a black 

 spot. 



Length, seven and fifty one-hundredths inches; wing, three and seventy-five 

 one-hundredths inches. 



This wellrknown species is abundantly distributed through- 

 out New England as a summer visitor. It makes its appear- 

 ance about the 1st of May in Massachusetts, and about the 



middle of that month 

 in Maine, in the north- 

 ern districts. It com- 

 mences building about 

 the 20th of May. The 

 nest is usually fixed 

 in an elm-tree near 

 houses, or in an apple 

 or pear tree in the or- 

 chard. Nuttall's de- 

 scription of the nest 

 is the best that I have ever seen, and much better than 

 any I could make : although somewhat lengthy, I give it 

 entire : 



