Jail. 1890.] 



a:n^d oologist. 



13 



Nesting of the Arizona Hooded 

 Oriole at Riverside, Cal. 



As all the iiccounts of the nestin<f of the 

 Arizona Hooded Oriole (Icterus citrnUatiis nel- 

 sinii) that I have seen are the results of obser- 

 vations in uncultivated regions, or where 

 native ve<!jetation abounds, I thought a few 

 notes from this locality nii<i,ht be of interest. 



Therefore, in this article I will oive my ex- 

 perience with this bird in the settled district 

 (under cultivation) of Riverside; extendin<f as 

 it does over an area of about twenty sijuare 

 miles, and as this laud twenty years ago was 

 a dry plain, no stately sycamore nor live oak 

 stands to otter the usual favorite nesting place. 



The i)ast season of ls->!) was a most favorable 

 one for the study of this bird, as they were 

 exceedingly abundant compared with previous 

 years, even outnumbering our "common 

 oriole." the hitlliirki. which before has been by 

 far the more common of the two. 



The Arizona llctoded Oriole arrives here 

 about the middle of March, and probably com- 

 mences building the first week in April, as my 

 first nest contained a full set on April 2:5, and 

 I heard of others being taken a few days be- 

 fore. The nesting extends through May and 

 June, the latest date being .Fuly 1st. when a 

 fresh set was brought me. 



The nest is almost always instantly distin- 

 guished from that of the Bullock's by its light 

 color — a peculiarity which is noticed in other 

 localities, I believe — and it is invariably com- 

 l)osed of fresh fibres of the Fan Palm (Wasfi- 

 iniitiDiUi filircra). which has been planted here 

 to a large extent. I have never seen the bulk 

 of a nest made of anything else. 



Many nests contain no lining whatever, and 

 none are very elaborately finished. The ma- 

 jority merely have a small amount of a cottony 

 substance (also obtained from the palm), and 

 a few will contain two or three feathers, or a 

 long horse-hair. 



F(U- the rearing of the first brood the nest.s 

 are usually suspended in overhanging branches 

 of the blue gum {Enrali/ptun (jlnhitht.s), but it 

 is a noticeable fact that the second nests are 

 more commonly attached to the leaves of the 

 palm tree. Wliy this is I do not know, unless 

 they want to begin laying as soon as possible, 

 and therefore build where material is most 

 easily obtained. 



When in the palms the nests are fastened 

 directly to the under side of a large leaf, leav- 

 ing a small opening on one. or more often on 

 either side, for the bird to enter. 



A nest composed of fresh, pale yellowish 

 material, thus suspended is a beautifid con- 

 trast against the green leaf, and is the hand- 

 somest of anything in the way of nests that I 

 have seen, especially when four nests are in 

 one small palm not over fifteen feet high. 



While the eucalyptus and palm are the two 

 great favorite trees for nests, yet occasionally 

 they build in others, chiefly the cottonwood, 

 poplar, willow, and English walnut, and in one 

 instance a nest was suspended in a climbing 

 vine on a porch, but these are exceptional 

 cases. As a rule they do not build high, the 

 highest being not over twenty or twenty-five 

 feet from the gioand, while from six to fifteen 

 feet is the usual height. 



In size and shape the nests vary considerably 

 but probably no more than those of other 

 birds, and not so much as some. The general 

 shape is cup-like, the greatest diameter being 

 at the top. Purse-shaped nests are very rare. 

 When placed in palms the tendency is to 

 spread out more, often assuming the appear- 

 ance of a hammock, and on several occasions 

 I have kn;)wn them s;) shallow that the eggs 

 have rolled out during a strong breeze. A 

 typical nest will measure about 2.75 xo. 2.5 

 inches, inside and outside diameter, and 

 3 x:>.50 inches in depth. 



The eggs, in size, markings, and number 

 laid, are tlie sime as in other localities, and 

 as they have been sufficiently described by 

 others I will not take the time to do so, fur- 

 ther than to state that of twenty-one full sets 

 obtained last season, twelve contained four 

 and nine three eggs each, and I know of only 

 two instances where five were found. 



Having parted with all my sets and having 

 failed to retain full data of each set, I will be 

 unaljle to make a list of them with date, de- 

 scription, etc., as I should like to have done, 

 but will describe a series of fifteen nests now 

 before me. 



It is understood that all the following nests 

 are composed of palm fibres, and when lined 

 the material is stated. 



I. Hung under palm leaf, lined with a little 

 cotton. f'up-shaped. Diameter inside and 

 out, 1.00 x ;}.!»(); depth, inside and out, 2 x;!.5U. 

 A very clean, almost white nest. 



II. Fastened to three twigs in overhanging 

 branch of gum tree. Cotton lining. Cup- 

 shaped. Diameter, 2x8; depth, 2.10x;l25. 



III. In palm; no lining; resembles nests of 

 .sparrows in form. Diameter, 2x4.10; depth, 

 1.90 X 2. ")0. 



IV. In palm: very little cotton lining. 



