THE GOLDEN ORIOLE. 47 



lesser and under wing-coverts. All the upper part of the 

 body is of the green colour of the siskin, the lower part 

 greenish white with brown streaks, and the wings grey black. 



HABITATION When \vild, it generally frequents lonely groves, or the 



skirts of forests, always keeping among the most bushy trees, so that it is 

 rarely seen on a naked branch ; it always frequents orchards during the 

 time of cherries. It is a bird of passage, departing in families in August, 

 and not returning till the following May *. 



In the house, if it cannot be let range at pleasure, it must be confined 

 in a large wire cage. 



FOOD. When wild, its food is insects and berries. In confinement, 

 and if an old one be caught by means of the owl, like the jays, it must be 

 kept at first in a quiet and retired place, offering it fresh cherries, then 

 adding by degrees ants' eggs, and white bread soaked in milk, or the 

 nightingale's food. But I confess there is great difficulty in keeping it 

 alive, for with every attention and the greatest care, I do not know a single 

 instance of one of this species having been preserved for more than three 

 or four months 



NEST OF THE GOLDEN ORIOLE. 



BREEDING. The scarcity of the golden oriole arises from its breeding 

 but once a year. Its nest, hung with great art in the fork of a small 

 bushy branch, is in shape like a purse, or a basket with two handles. 

 The female lays four or five white eggs, marked with a few black streaks 

 and spots. Before the first moulting, the young ones are like their 



* It is rarely found in Britain. TRANSLATOR- 



