5 
the middle of May; but they rapidly disappeared; nor did I ever meet with the nest, though 
twice in June I found pairs of Orioles evidently settled down in their breeding-habitat.” In 
Africa it is a tolerably common winter visitant, ranging far south. Captain Shelley states (B. of 
Egypt, p. 156) that it “ passes through Egypt and Nubia on its spring and autumn migrations, 
but does not remain to breed in the country. In spring it arrives about the middle of April, 
when it is rather plentiful among the thicker-foliaged trees.” Von Heuglin says that it arrives 
in scattered parties in the middle of April, and again in August and September; and, he adds, it 
does not appear to pass the equator. He met with a family in September 1857 at Asab Bay, 
and he saw it in October in Adel Land in Abyssinia, on the White Nile, and on the Somali 
coast. Males in full plumage are, he says, very rare in North-east Africa. Dr. Brehm also 
writes (J. f. O. 1854, p. 75) respecting its range in North-east Africa as follows :—‘ I observed it, 
in 1848, on the 12th September in Upper Nubia, below Berber (173° N. lat.); in 1849, on the 
3rd and 8th May on Lake Mezaleh; in 1850, on the 6th September near Chartum, on the 12th 
and 18th September on the Blue Nile; in 1851, on the 17th September in the province of- 
Dongola, and even as late as the 10th October in Upper Egypt.” In North-west Africa it is 
also found, during passage and in the breeding-season. Loche writes that it breeds in Algeria, 
arriving in April and leaving late in August. Near Tangier it would appear to be only a 
migrant; for Colonel Irby says that, according to Favier, it ‘‘ crosses the Straits in great numbers 
during April and May, returning in July, August, and September.” It passes as far south in 
Africa at least as Damara Land. Verreaux, who records it from Casamanze, says that he fre- 
quently obtained it in South Africa. Mr. Gurney mentions that Mr. Sharpe possessed a specimen 
obtained by Mr. Andersson at Ondonga; and Mr. Andersson himself states (B. of Damara Land, 
p- 124) that it “arrives in Damara Land with the return of the rainy season, but is comparatively 
rare, and very few adult birds are seen.” It was obtained by Mr. Ayres in Natal; and, according 
to Hartlaub, it is also found in Madagascar. It would appear also to occur on the Azores ; for 
Mr. Godman saw a half-plucked specimen in Flores which, he says, he does not hesitate to 
attribute to this species. 
To the eastward it occurs as far as Sindh and Turkestan, in which latter country Dr. Severt- 
zoff informs me it meets with Oriolus kundoo, its eastern representative. Mr. Blanford says that 
it abounds in Persia in the summer, and breeds throughout the higher parts of the country. 
The large gardens and orchards which surround many of the higher Persian villages, at eleva- 
tions of above 6000 feet, afford an admirable habitat for this bird during the breeding-season. 
Dr. Severtzoff also informs me that it breeds throughout Turkestan. 
The Golden Oriole is a shy and unobtrusive bird; and, in spite of its gaudy coloration, it is 
by no means a conspicuous or easily observed species. It affects evergreen groves and woods, 
where it keeps to the dense foliage, and appears to be a restless, uneasy bird, continually moving 
from place to place. When in Finland, now nearly twenty years ago, I had very ample oppor- 
tunities of observing this species; for a pair bred in a garden, and were generally to be found in 
the high trees of a fine old avenue in front of the windows of the house in which I was living, 
and the clear, bold whistle of the male and his mewing call could generally be heard. In spite 
of being unmolested they were shy, and used to hide amongst the dense foliage of the tree-tops, 
seldom descending into the bushes, and were usually observed flying from one grove to another. 
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