BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 365 



507. Icterus galbula (Linn.}. BALTIMORE ORIOLE. Ad. d". Head, 

 neck, throat, and upper back black; breast, belly, lower back, and lesser 

 wing-coverts deep, rich, reddish orange; wings black, the outer margin 

 of the greater coverts and quills edged with white; end half of middle tail- 

 feathers black, base orange; all the others orange, crossed by a black band 

 in the middle. Ad. 9. Upperparts brownish or grayish orange, brighter on 

 the rump; head and back mottled with black; wings fuscous, greater and 

 middle coverts tipped with white; tail like the rump, the middle feathers 

 stained with black; underparts dull orange, throat sometimes spotted with 

 black. L., 7-53; W., 3'52; T., 2'84; B., '70. 



Range. Breeds mainly in Transition and Upper Austral zones from cen. 

 Alberta, cen. Sask., Man., Ont., N. B., and N. S. s. to n. Tex., cen. La., and 

 n. Ga. and w. to Mont., Wyo., and Colo. e. of the Rocky Mts.; migrates 

 through e. Mex.; winters from s. Mex. to Colombia; accidental at York 

 Factory, Hudson Bay, and in Cuba. 



Washington, rather common S. R., Apl. 29- Aug. 26. Ossining, common 

 S. R., May 2-Sept. 1. Cambridge, very common, S. R., May 8 through 

 Aug. N. Ohio, common S. R., Apl. 15-Sept. 10. Glen Ellyn, common S. R., 

 Apl. 26-Sept. 4. SE. Minn., common S. R., May 1-Sept. 1. 



Nest, pensile, of grasses, bark, plant fibers, hair, strings, etc., firmly 

 interwoven, in fruit or shade trees, near the extremity of a limb 20-40 feet up. 

 Eggs, 4-6, white, singularly scrawled with fine, distinct or obscure black 

 or fuscous lines, and with a few spots or blotches, '94 x '63. Date, D. O., 

 May 27; Cambridge, June 1; Martin's Ferry, Ohio, May 20; se. Minn., 

 May 22. 



Sometimes Nature, as if to remind us of the richness of her stores, 

 sends from the tropics a gayly attired bird which seems quite out of place 

 among the more soberly clad inhabitants of northern climes. The 

 genus Icterus contains nearly forty species, all more or less brightly 

 dressed in orange, yellow, and black, but not one is more beautiful 

 than our Baltimore Oriole. There is reason to believe that he is not 

 unaware of his own charms; indeed, we may almost suspect him of 

 intentionally displaying them. His splendor is not to be lost in the 

 forest, and, whistling loudly, he flashes through our fruit and shade 

 trees. 



He leaves to the female the task of constructing their wonderfully 

 made nest, but he seems quite as deeply interested in the performance 

 as if he were a skilled weaver himself; indeed, he would probably assist 

 if he were permitted. 



Young Orioles have been well named by Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller 

 the cry-babies of the bird world. Their ceaseless call for food is almost 

 as much a midsummer voice as the song of cicadas. Long after they 

 have left the nest we may find them in the different trees about our lawn 

 calling out monotonously and persistently dee-dee-dee-dee, until one of 

 the parents arrives and momentarily fills their mouths. 



BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (508. Icterus bullocki), a species of our Western 

 States, has been taken in New York and in Maine. 



509. Euphagus carolinus (Mull.}. RUSTY BLACKBIRD. Ad. <?, breed- 

 ing plumage. Entire plumage uniform glossy bluish black; tail-feathers of 

 nearly equal length. Ad. a* and Im. a" in winter. Similar, but the uppor- 

 parts widely tipped with rufous or rusty, the underparts similarly tipped 

 with ochraceous- or cream-buff; a buffy line over the eye. Ad. 9 in breeding 

 plumage. Slate-color, glossy above, duller below; wings and tail darker 



