42 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



and long-lived bird makes a Piping-Crow a very safe 

 speculation for any bird-lover. 



THE ORIOLES. 



These constitute a small family of birds found chiefly 

 in warm regions in the Old World. They are of about the 

 size of a House-Mynah, and usually yellow and black in 

 plumage, with rather long wings, medium tails, longish, 

 stout bills, and decidedly short legs. The Black-headed 

 Oriole, figured on Plate II (Fig. 2), will give a good idea 

 of them, as they have a great family resemblance. They 

 live in trees, feeding on fruit and insects, and building 

 beautiful hammock-like nests in a fork of a branch ; the 

 eggs are white with black spots. Male and female are 

 alike in plumage or nearly so ; but the young are streaked, 

 and the young hen does not come into full colour so soon 

 as the cock. They are not songsters, but have most 

 beautiful flute-like calls. They go alone or in pairs and 

 are called pilak in Hindustani. 



It should be mentioned here that the so-called Orioles 

 of America belong to a different family altogether, the 

 Troupials ; it is remarkable, however, that some of them 

 display the same black and yellow colours, and almost the 

 same patterns, as the true Orioles, whence, no doubt, the 

 confusion. In form and habits the Troupials are inter- 

 mediate between the Starlings and the Weaver-Finches, 

 and practically every gradation between these very different 

 birds can be found in the family. A common Brazilian 

 Troupial (Icterus vulgaris), in colour much resembling 

 the Black-headed Oriole figured, but with a Starling- 



