BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 131 
Thus the Robin is not a Robin but a true Thrush, 
the Meadowlark is not a Lark but a Starling, and the 
Orioles are not Orioles at all, but members of a distinc- 
tively American family having no representatives in the 
Old World. This family contains one hundred and fifty 
species, of which nearly one third belong in the genus 
Ieterus, The prevailing colors of the birds of this genus 
are orange and black, hence their resemblance to the true 
Orioles (genus Oriolus) of the Old World. 
Our Baltimore Oriole is a worthy representative of a 
group remarkable for its bright colors. It is to these 
Baltimore Oriole, same colors that the bird owes not only 
Ieterus galbula. _ its generic but its specific designation, 
Plate XXXV. orange and black being the livery of 
Lord Baltimore, after whom the bird was named. 
The Baltimore Oriole, or, as it is also called, Firebird, 
Golden Robin, or Hangnest, winters in Central America, 
and in the spring reaches the latitude of New York city 
about May 1. I always look for it when the cherry trees 
burst into blossom, and at no other time does its beanti- 
ful plumage appear to better advantage than when seen 
against a background of white flowers. To the charm of 
beauty it adds the attraction of song, a rich, ringing 
whistle, which can be more or less successfully imitated, 
when the bird immediately responds, challenging the 
supposed trespasser on his domain. 
The Baltimore’s nest is a bag about five inchés deep 
and three inches in diameter, woven of plant-fibers, 
thread, ete., and suspented from the terminal portion of 
a limb, generally of an elm tree. The four to six eggs 
are white, singularly scrawled with fine black lines, and 
with a few spots or blotches. 
The Orchard Oriole is neither so common nor #0 
gayly dressed as his brilliantly colored relative, and, being 
fonder of orchards than lawns and elm-shaded Inghways, 
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