40 THE BIRDS OF CALCUTTA. 



plumage by hen birds which by age or accident have be- 

 come barren, such as often occurs among hen pheasants ; 

 and can only be ascribed to a natural tendency on the part 

 of the species to progress in a given direction, the male 

 leading the way. 



This is well seen in our domestic birds. If we ornament 

 an unoffending bird such as the Chinese goose or the pigeon 

 with a knob on its nose, we find the male grows a 

 bigger one. If, on the other hand, Nature has been before- 

 hand with us in bestowing the decorations, such as the 

 comb and wattles of the fowl and the bare red face of the 

 Muscovy duck, and we take the birds into domestication, 

 we find that the females, in which these decorations were 

 rudimentary or absent, proceed to develop them in imi- 

 tation of their lords, quite independently of our selection. 

 And if we deliberately breed for big-combed fowls, the 

 hens will run the cocks very close indeed in the matter of 

 head-dress. 



But to get back to our Orioles ; their young are cradled 

 in an excellent nest, cup-shaped and firmly laced into a 

 fork high up in a tree, and they emerged from white eggs 

 spotted with black, this type of egg being a family one 

 with them. They feed on fruit and insects, and are tho- 

 rough tree-birds, never seen on the ground, and not making 

 themselves conspicuous when perched. The chief indication 

 of the Oriole's presence among us is his beautiful liquid 

 whistle, and the occasional appearance of the bird in his 

 leisurely flight from one tree to another. Such are the 

 habits of Orioles in general, and they seem a thriving race, 

 for they spread from Australia to the British Isles, where 



