THE HOODED ORIOLE. 475 



for Orioles' nests, and though strong the)* appear thin and delicate. A few pairs 

 build in Spanish bayonets (yucca) growing on sand ridges in the salt prairies; 

 here the nests are built chiefly of the dry, tough fibers of this plant, with a little 

 wool or thistle down as lining; they are placed among the dead and depressed 

 leaves, two or three of which are used as supports." 



Mr. George B. Sennett likewise reports this as the most abundant of all the 

 Orioles on the lower Rio Grande. He says: "They were continually peering 

 about the thatched roof of our house and the arbors adjoining- for insects; they 

 were more familiar than any of the other Orioles about the ranch; the birds are 

 very active and so full of song that the woods are filled with music all day 

 long." 1 



Their food, like that of the other species of this genus, consists mainly of 

 insects and their larvse. The nests are mostly placed from 6 to 12 feet from the 

 ground, rarely farther up, but Mr. Sennett reports having found some fully 30 

 feet high. They are most frequently placed in the hanging moss in various 

 kinds of trees, mesquite predominating. The nests built in yuccas are usually 

 entirely constructed of the fiber obtained from the dry leaves of this plant, 

 which are exceedingly well adapted for this purpose, and such nests retain their 

 shape much better than those built of moss. One now before me, in an excellent 

 state of preservation, measures exteriorly 3J inches in depth by 3 inches in 

 width; the inner cup is 2 J inches wide by 2 inches deep. It is built throughout 

 of yucca fiber and contains no lining. 



Nidification begins in April, and the earliest record of a full clutch of eggs 

 having been taken is April 17, a set of five; the latest was July 5; probably two 

 broods are raised in a season. The Hooded Oriole is considerably imposed upon 

 by both the Red-eyed and Dwarf Cowbirds, and in a few instances parasitic eggs 

 of both species are found in the same nest. It would be interesting to ascertain 

 which of the Cowbirds survived. Probably the young Red-eyed Cowbird proves 

 to be too much for the smaller Dwarf Cowbird and gradually starves it to death. 

 None of these birds winter with us ; they retire farther south in October. 



The number of eggs laid to a set varies from three to five, sets of four 

 being most common, and an egg is deposited daily. They are mostly ovate in 

 shape; the shell is delicate, rather frail, and without luster. The ground color 

 is dull white, occasionally this has a pale buffy and again a faint bluish tint. 

 The eggs are blotched and spotted, principally about the larger end, with irreg- 

 ularly shaped markings ranging from dark seal brown to claret brown, purple, 

 mixed with ochraceous, mouse, and pearl gray, and these rarely run into lines 

 and tracings, so prevalent in the eggs of most of our Orioles. Some eggs are 

 fairly well marked, others only faintly; the lighter shades mentioned largely 

 predominate over the darker ones, and in some the latter are entirely wanting. 



The average measurement of ninety-three specimens in the United States 

 National Museum collection is 21.59 by 15.24 millimetres, or 0.85 by 0.60 inch. 

 The largest egg in the series measures 22.86 by 16 millimetres, or 0.90 by 0.63 

 inch; the smallest, 18.80 by 15.24 millimetres, or 0.74 by 0.60 inch. 



1 Bulletin of the U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey, 1879, Vol. V, No. 3, p. 398. 



