ICTEllI DM — THE ORIOLES. 1S7 



Inewl. Tlioii' comninn iiaiiie is Cdhoiilrin, ii imiiio also given, willioiit tlis- 

 ci'iiiiiniiLioii, lo Four or iive (itlier sjmcics of Irlcri ('oimuoii in Vera Cm/. 

 Mr. I'casf, in 1847, ohscrvt-d eillier litis s|p('cii!s or llic iiir/(niiinji/iii/tis uL 

 .lalajia, and in tiu! nci<,'iil»orlioo(! of tliu city of Mexico, in con.sideralilc niiin- 

 licr.s. Tiii.s l)inl wjus first described and lirou.tilit to notice as lieluiij,dn,t,' to 

 onr fauna, liy Mr. (Jiraud, in 1S41. Since tlien, Mr. .lolm II. Claris, zoiiio- 

 yist on tiie Mexican boundary Survey, ulitained several si)eciniens from the 

 liower liio (irandi!. It was first seen hy iiini near ltiiij,'iiold ISarracks. It 

 was not abundant, and its (juiet manners and secluded baiiits ])revente(l it 

 from beinj; very consjiicuous. It was mo.st freiiuently observed by liiiu 

 feeding on the fruit of tlie hackberry, but whenever approached, wldle tlms 

 feedinj^', it always shfpwed signs of uneasiness, and soon aftei' sought refuge 

 in some ]ila(.'e of greater concealment. 



I'sually ]iairs were to lie .seen kc^ejiing close together, a])]iarently ]irefer- 

 ring the thick foliage found on the margin of jionds, or in tlie old lied of the 

 river. They did not communicate with each other by any note, and Mr. 

 Clark was struck with their remarkalile silence. Their habits .seemed to 

 iiini very difi'erent from those of any other Oriole with which he was ac- 

 (juainted. 



From the papers of T.ieutenant Couch, quoted by Mr. Cassin, we learn 

 that these birds were seen by him, March '.^, at Santa Iiosalio, eigiit leagues 

 from Matamoras. Tiiey were in pairs, and lioth sexes were very shy ami 

 secluded, seeking insects on the jirickly jiear, or among the low miniosa- 

 tree.s, seeming to he never at rest, but ever on the lookout for tlieir favorite 

 food. 



While at Charco Escondido, farther in the interior of Tanianli]ias, Lieu- 

 tenant Couch met with a ]iair of these birds, and having brought down the 

 male bird with his gun, the fenmlo Hew to a neighlioring tree, ajiparently 

 unaware of her loss. She soon, liowever, observed his fall, and t'ndeavored 

 to recall him to her side with notes uttered in a strain of such exquisite 

 sadness tliat ho. could scarcely believe them utteri'd by a liird : and so 

 greatly did tlu'V excite his .symjiathy, that he almost resolved to desist from 

 further ornithological c(dlections. He achls that he never lieanl the lay of 

 any songster of tlie featJiered tribe expressed niore sweetly tlian that of the 

 ])resent s]iecies. .Ac Monterey lie found it a favorite cage-liird. Tlic female 

 also sings, but her notes are less powerful than tliose of the male. (Jenerally 

 the llight of this liird was low ami ra])id, and it .seemed to ]irefer the shade 

 of trees. It was observed almost invariably in ])airs, and the male and 

 female showed for each otiier great tenderness and solicitude. 



The eggs of this species measure .0(1 of an inch in lengtli by .70 in 

 breadth. Their ground-C(dor is a light drab or a dull ]iur]ilish-white, scat- 

 tered over which are faint markings of a subdued ]nir]ile, lilending imjier- 

 ceiitil)ly with the gnuind, and above these markings are dots and ij-regular 

 zigzag lines of dark brown, and darker jiurple, almost running into lilack. 



