588 BRITISH BIRDS. 



Genus ORIOLUS. 



The genus Oriolus was established by Linnseus in 1766, in his ' Sy sterna 

 Naturae/ i. p. 160, to contain the Orioles and other more or less dis- 

 tantly allied birds. Vieillot appears to have been the first ornithologist 

 who removed from this genus several groups of birds which had been 

 previously generically characterized by Brisson. In 1816 Vieillot, in his 

 e Analyse d'une nouvelle Ornithologie elementaire/ p. 33, restricted the 

 genus to its present dimensions, designating Le Loriot (Oriolus galbula] as 

 the type. Ornithologists differ in opinion as to the position of the Orioles ; 

 but there seems to be no valid reason for removing them from the Corvinse, 

 of which they form a somewhat aberrant genus. As regards the average 

 length of the wings and tail the Orioles form an intermediate group. The 

 chief distinction between the genus Oriolus and the other genera in this 

 subfamily is the fact that the nostrils are exposed and the sexes are different 

 in colour; but the latter may possibly not be an important character. 

 Like the rest of the Corvinse, they appear to have a spring moult. There 

 is nothing in the bill or feet to separate the Orioles from the allied 

 genera ; but the tarsus may be, on an average, slightly shorter. The pre- 

 vailing colours are also very different, being principally yellow or red 

 variegated with black. 



The Orioles appear to be essentially a tropical group of birds. There 

 are about forty species and subspecies known, of which fifteen are resident 

 in the Oriental and about the same number in the Australian Region, 

 seven reside in the ^Ethiopian Region, and two of the species which inhabit 

 the first-named region also extend their range into the extreme south of the 

 Paleearctic Region. One species alone appears to be confined to the Palse- 

 arctic Region during the breeding-season ; this is the only species found in 

 Europe, and is a rare summer visitor to the British Islands. 



The Orioles are found in gardens, groves, the outskirts of woods, orchards, 

 and other well-cultivated places. Their food consists principally of insects 

 and caterpillars ; but fruits of various kinds are eaten. Their call-notes 

 are clear and musical ; and many species rank amongst the finest songsters. 

 They build open cup-shaped nests in the forks of branches. These 

 nests are skilfully woven, and made of roots, grass, vegetable fibres, and 

 lined with hair, moss, feathers, &c. Their eggs, from three to five or six 

 in number, vary from pure white to cream- and salmon-colour, spotted with 

 liver-brown and with purplish underlying markings. 



