ICTERUS. 373 



c 1 . Feathers of throat slenderly lanceolate ; orbits naked. 



Adult (sexes alike) : Head, neck, chest, back, scapulars, wings, 

 and tail uniform black ; middle and part of greater wing-cov- 

 erts, and broad edgings to secondaries, white ; rest of plumage, 

 including lesser wing-coverts and broad collar across hind-neck, 

 yellow or orange; length about 9.00-10.00, wing 4.10-5.00, tail 

 3.80-4.30, culmen 1.25-1.50, tarsus 1.25-1.35. Hab. Caribbean 

 coast of South America ; West Indies (introduced ?) ; accidental 

 at Charleston, South Carolina. 



502. I. icterus (LINN.). Troupial. 

 c 2 . Feathers of throat normal (short and blended); orbits feathered. 



d l . Tail shorter than wing, graduated for less than length of culmen. 

 Adult male: Head, neck, chest, breast, back, scapulars, 

 greater wing-coverts, secondaries, primaries, and terminal 

 (or subterminal) portion of tail (including nearly whole 

 length of middle feathers) uniform deep black ; tips of 

 greater wing-coverts and tail-feathers (except middle pair), 

 and narrow edgings to quills and secondaries (sometimes 

 worn off), white; rest of plumage bright lemon-yellow 

 (duller in younger birds), the middle wing-coverts fading 

 into whitish at tips. Adult female : Above olive-greenish, 

 the back and wings grayer, the first with more or less dis- 

 tinct dusky shaft-streaks ; middle and greater wing-coverts 

 broadly tipped with white, forming two distinct bands; 

 tail dull olive terminally and on middle feathers, the rest 

 olive-yellow; lower parts entirely olive-yellow. Young 

 male : Variously intermediate in plumage between the 

 adult male and female, according to age. Young of year : 

 Similar to adult female, " but with all the wing-feathers 

 edged and tipped with white, the wing-bands yellowish, 

 the tail tipped with yellow, the breast obscured by brown- 

 ish, and- the yellow of the under parts paler and greener." 

 (BREWST.) Length about 7.70-8.50, wing 3.80-4.20, tail 

 3.30-3.90, culmen .95-1.00, tarsus .90-.95. (Female aver- 

 aging smaller than male.) Nest pensile or semi-pensile, 

 usually built in yuccas, composed of fibres of the yucca, 

 dried grasses, etc., lined with softer materials. Eggs 3-4, 

 .97 X -67, bluish white, speckled and finely pencilled round 

 larger end with black, and faintly clouded with lilac-gray. 

 Hab. Central Mexico, and north to southern border of 

 United States (southern Texas to Arizona) ; Lower Cali- 

 fornia 504. I. parisorum BONAP. Scott's Oriole. 



cP. Tail longer than wing, graduated for much more than length of 

 culmen. (Adult with head, upper neck, chest, wings, except 

 lesser and middle coverts, and tail, black; rest of plumage 



