42 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



rupees the fact that it is a very hardy and long-lived 

 bird makes a Piping-Crow a very safe speculation tor 

 any bird-lover. 



THE ORIOLES. 



These constitute a small family of birds found chief- 

 ly 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, feed- 

 ing on fruit and insects, and building beautiful ham- 

 mock-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 alto- 

 gether, 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 intermediate 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 



