CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 2. PASSERES. 185 



called Troujnalcs by the French and TroopiaU by the English. The most interesting species is 

 the ]'>ALTiMORE Oriole — ranged by Le Maoiit under the generic name of Carouge — /. Balti- 

 more, fixmiliar in all the orcliards of the United States. It is seven to eight inches long, of a 

 golden-yellow color, with the head, neck, wings, and tail black; the female yellowish-olive; the 

 food consists of flies, beetles, and caterpillars, and in the destruction of these it is very useful. It 

 has various names, all of which are descriptive, as Golden Oriole] Hang-Bird, Fiery Hang-Bird, 

 Golden Robin, and Baltimore Oriole, this latter title, it is said, having been bestowed because its 

 black and yellow colors resemble the livery of Lord Baltimore, which was familiar to the colo- 

 nists of Maryland in the early days of the settlement, that noble family having founded the 

 colony. These birds appear among us from their for southern home in May ; their arrival is 

 hailed by young and old as the harbinger of spring and summer. Full of life and activitv, these 

 fairy sylphs are now seen glancing through the boughs of the loftiest trees, appearing and van- 

 ishing like living gems. The same curious fact exists in respect to them as in respect to many 

 other birds : in the long migration from the south — often several thousand miles — the sexea have 

 been separate ; the males arrive several days before the females, not in flocks, but singly. At 

 this time they fill the air with their notes, which, however, are shrill and plaintive, as if their joy 

 was incomplete. Soon their partners arrive, and after many battles between the lovers, the pair- 

 ing is completed, and amid frolic and song the nest is begun. This is usually the period when 

 the apple-orchards are in bloom, and nothing can afford a picture of more enchanting and vivid 

 beauty than these brilliant birds, in the midst of perfume and showering blossoms, sporting, sing- 

 ing, and rollicking — nay, sipping the honey and feasting on the insects, as if these bowers were 

 all their own. At this time the notes of the male are often a low whistle, or now and then a full 

 trumpet tone, one following the other in slow or rapid succession ; even the female sings, though 

 with less melody. Many of the notes of both are colloquial, and it is not difficult for a listener to 

 fancy that he liears questions and answers between the lively couple, with occasional side ob- 

 servations in various keys, indicative of approbation or reproach, admiration or contempt. If 

 a dog or cat chances to approach the neighborhood of the nest, a volley of abuse, in a sharp, 

 rapid tone, is sure to be poured out upon the intruder. The ingenuity of the Golden Robin in 

 building its nest has always excited admiration. Nuttall says: " This is a pendulous, cylindric 

 pouch, of five to seven inches in depth, usually suspended from near the extremities of the high 

 drooping branches of trees, such as the elm, the pear, or apple-tx'ce, wild ehei'ry, weeping-willow, 

 tulip-tree or button-wood. It is begun by firmly fastening natural strings of the flax, of the silk- 

 weed or swamp-holyhock, or stout artificial threads, round two or more forked twigs, correspond- 

 ing to the intended width and depth of the nest. With the same materials, willow-down, or any 

 accidental ravelings, strings, thread, sewing-silk, tow, or wool that may be lying near the neigh- 

 boring houses, or round the grafts of trees, they interweave and fabricate a sort of coarse cloth 

 into the form intended, toward tlie bottom of wdiich they place the real nest, made chiefly of lint, 

 wiry grass, horse and cow-hair, lining the interior with a mixture of slender strips of smooth vine- 

 bark, and rarely, with a few feathers, the wdiole being of a considerable thickness, and more or 

 less attached to the external pouch. Over the top, the leaves, as they grow out, form a verdant 

 and agreeable canopy, defendinsr the young from the sun and rain. There is sometimes a coi> 

 siderable difference in the manufacture of these nests, as well as the materials which enter into 

 their composition. Both sexes seem to be equally adepts at this kind of labor, and 1 have seen 

 the female alone perform the whole without any assistance, and the male also complete this labo- 

 rious task nearly without the aid of his consort, who, however, is in general the principal worker. 

 I have observed a nest made almost wholly of tow, vdiich was laid out for the convenience of a male 

 bird, who, with this aid, completed his labor in a \ery short time, and frequently sung in a very ludi- 

 crous manner while his mouth was loaded with a mass larger than his head. So eager are they to 

 obtain fibrous materials, that they will readily tiy at, and even untie, hard knots made of tow." 



The eggs of this bird are four to five, white, with a bluish tint, and faint brown lines and 

 spots at the larger end. It raises two broods in a season. It is easily tamed, and is docile and 

 playful in confinement. It has a turn for mimicry, and often adopts for its song the notes of 

 other birds. 



Vol. II. — 24 



