DRONGOS ORIOLES. 



361 



They 



The Drongos. 

 Family 

 Dicruridce. 



and China, south throughout the Malayan Archipelago to Australia, 

 sit on exposed branches of trees, 

 whence they fly out and capture 

 insects. Their nest is a cradle 

 suspended between the fork of a 

 branch, and the eggs are whitish, 

 with red markings. In nearly all the species the 

 tail is very plainly forked, especially in Buchauga, 

 and in some genera, such as the Himalayan 

 Chibia, the outer feathers are curved upwards. 

 Some of the drongos, such as Dissemurus and 

 Bhringa, have the outer tail-feathers greatly 

 prolonged, and ending in a racket. 



The orioles are an Old World family of birds, 

 the plumage being of a bright yellow or orange 

 colour, though some of the Moluccan and Aus- 



Fig. 96. -THE BLACK DBONGO tralian forms, such as Mimeta, 



(Buchanga atrce). 



are dingy enough in colour, and 



The Orioles. 



Family 



Oriolidce. 



resemble honey-suckers (Meliphagidce). The orioles build 

 a nest like the drongos, a cup-shaped cradle between the 

 fork of a branch. 



The golden oriole winters in Africa, and comes to Southern and 

 Central Europe in the spring. It not only visits the British Islands 

 pretty frequently, but has certainly bred there. 

 The note of all the orioles is very rich and flute- 

 like, and their habits are arboreal, their food con- 

 sisting of insects and fruit. The young birds are 

 streaked below, showing an affinity to the starlings ; 

 and the eggs are white, with black spots. 



These birds are usually called orioles by American 

 naturalists, chiefly on account of their black and 

 yellow colour, which recalls the 

 plumage of the orioles of the Old The Hang-Nests. 

 World. They are, however, struc- Family 

 turally distinct, and differ in their Icteridce. 

 habits. The family contains many 

 well-known genera, such as the bobolink (Delichonyx 

 oryzivora) and the cow - birds (Molothrus), those 

 curious parasitic creatures of which Mr. W. H. Hudson gives such an inter- 

 esting account in the "Argentine Ornithology." He gives details of the way 

 in which the Argentine cow-bird (M. bonariensis) victimises many other small 

 birds by placing its eggs in their nests ; and he also tells us that when the 

 young cow-bird is hatched, the other occupants of the nest soon disappear, 

 though whether this massacre is the result of interference on the part of the 

 old birds, or is the work of the nestling cow-bird itself, as with our common 

 cuckoo, has not yet been proved. 



Another well-known member of the family is the red- winged hang- 

 nest (Agelceus phcRiiiceus), popularly known amongst us as the red- 

 winged starling, and the meadow starlings (Sturnella) also belong to the 

 family. 



The true hang-nests or troupials of the genus Icterus are widely spread 

 over the New World. The chief element in their coloration is a bright yellow 



Fig. 97. THE GOLDEN ORIOLE 

 (Oriolus galbula). 



