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Early in June of the present year, I received a letter from

Mr. Maximilian Praschkauer, of the well-known firm of bird-food

importers, asking me if I would be willing to accept a rare

“ Oriole,” which had been his wife’s pet for the past ten years,

and had accompanied him and his wife wherever they journeyed.

This bird was purchased in America, where at the time he was

travelling on business ; his wife had become so fond of it, that

the constant anxiety lest it should fall a victim to some prowling

cat, while she was out for a walk or on a visit, at length

convinced her that she would be happier if it were in the hands

of someone, who would take care of and protect it against injury.


I found that this bird had been fed chiefly upon moistened

sponge-cake and fruit, even mealworms having been only given

once or twice, as its mistress was afraid lest they might prove

injurious.


The bird came into my hands about the middle of the

month : it had up to that time, been kept in a waggon-shaped

brass-wired cage with receptacles for food and water at each end.

This cage was about fifteen inches in length by ten inches in

width, therefore it did not offer much space for exercise ; certainly

none for flight. I transferred it, or induced it, by the offer of a

mealworm, to transfer itself to a flight-cage, three feet six inches

in length, and about eighteen inches wide : it flew up to a perch,

but was afraid to descend to the floor of its cage, until I gave it a

spider, which it carelessly dropped and could not resist the

temptation of recovering it ; it therefore hung from below the

perch, first by both feet, then by one, finally letting go and

alighting on the sand : it however took several days to acquire

perfect confidence in the use of its wings.


At first I supposed this bird to be merely an oddly coloured

male of the Yellow-shouldered Marsh-Troupial, but on examin¬

ing the skins at the Natural History Museum, I discovered that

no such variation occurred in that species : I therefore looked at

the allied species and recognized my bird under A. humeralis.


Dr. Sclater describes the wing-coverts as yellowisli-brown,

but this conveys the impression of brown washed with yellow,

whereas the real colour is satiny ochre-yellow with a faint

suspicion of a sienna brownish wash over it ( c ). When the

bird stands up high, a few small bright yellow feathers become

visible at the back of the thighs, a character not recorded either

in this species or A. thilius \ the under wing-converts are pale

creamy sulphur-yellow. As compared with A. thilius, with its



(c). Russ describes the coverts as reddish yellow.



