408 



SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSEEES— OSCIXES. 



(J. Above, dull yoUuwish-iilive, cloarost ou hoad, ruiiip, aud tail, olisiMiicil mi tlu' back. 

 Bolow, sordid yrllowisU. Wings plain dusky, gkissod witli olivacoous, with wliitish I'dgiuc;, 

 much as iu tbo if. An inconspicuous object, but known from otber 9 orioles by its small 

 size and slender bill, a. little curved. Young J" : First yi'ar like 9 i l"d larger ; second year 

 like 9 , but Avitli a black mask on tbe'faoi' and tlu'oat. Afterward showing confused characters 

 of biitli sexes. Three years required to assume the full dress. Eastern U. S., strictly; rarely 

 N. to Maiue, Canada ; W. to the liigh central [daius. lljeeds throughout its U. 1-1. range ; winters 

 extralimital. Abundant iu orclianls, parks, streets, the skirts of woods, etc. The nest is one 

 of the most perfect examples of a woven pensile fabric, even in a group of birds distinguished 

 as the orioles are for the dexterity aud assiduity tlu\Y ilisplay iu their elaborate textile ro.itrifac- 

 turcs. Tlu'y antedate Howe iu the expedient of placing the eye of a needle at its point — that 

 wliicb revolutionized hand-sewing, and made sewing-uuichiues practicable ' for their bill worlis 

 to precisely the same etl'cct. Tlu' tirchartl oriole's U(*st is g\'ncrally more coiupact aud liouui- 

 geueous than the Baltimore's, woven cliietly of slender grass-blades which cure in tlm sun like 

 good hay, long retaining some greiamess, which tends to its coucealmeiit iu the foliage. It is 

 smaller, less deep iu proportion, and often not so strictly pendant from its forlicd twig. Kggs 

 smaller than the Baltimore's, scarcely 0.S5 X 0.00, and spotty rather than scrawly. 

 325. I. s. affl'uis. (Lat. <(/A')((V, atiiued, allied.) Tb.'^as Oi;ch.\hd Oriole. Snuiller : J little 



over li.OO ; wing usually under 3.0U. Texas ; Southern race, scarcely distiug\iishable. 

 336. I. gal'bula. (Lat. ijahjida ov ffalhida, some snuill yidlow bird of the ancients. " lialtiuuire" 

 is not from tlie city of that nauu\ but from the title of Sir (icorgo t'alvcrl, lirst baron of lialti- 

 uuire ; tlu' C(dors of the bird beiug cho- 

 sen for his livery, or resembling those 

 of liis coat-of-arms. Fig. 2(i.'i.) B.\i,- 

 TIMOIUO ()U1()1,1-;. (icU.inON BlllUN. 



FiiiKiuKi). Il.\MiNio,s'r. Adult J; 



Black and orange. Head aud ui'cl% 



all round, and the back, black ; rump, 



up]ier tail-coverts, lesser aiul mider 



wing-coverts, nuist of the tail-featlu-rs, 



aud all tlu! under parts from the throat 



tiery orange, but of varying intensity 



accoriling to agi' and season. iMiddle 



tail-feathers Idack ; wings bhu-k, the 



middle and greater coverts, aud inner 



(piiUs, more or less edged and tipjied with white, but the white lui the coverts imt forming a 



ecuitinuous p.atch ; bill and feet blue-black, or dark grayish-blue. Length 7.r>0-S.()0 ; I'xtiuit 



11.50-12.50 ; wing 3.0fi ; tail H.OO. ? snuiller, and much paler, the black obscured by olive, 



sometimes entiridy wanting. Above, mixed dusky and ydlowish-olive, somewhat overcast 



with a gray shade. Bdow, dull orange, more or less mixed with whitish, aud usually with 



black traces i.>n the throat. Tail and its upper coverts dull yidlowish, the central feathers 



usually blackish. Bill and feet lighter plumbeous than in the (J. Young <^ entirely without 



black on throat and head, otherwise ccdored nearly like the 9 . Below, dull orange yellow 



whitening on throat, shaded with (div(! on sides. Above, olivo, inoro ycllowisli on niinp aud 



tail, but latter without black; middle of back idiscured with dusky centres of tlie feathers; 



wings dusky, with two white bars and white edgings of tlii' inner quills. In some sjdemUd 



featherings, particularly from the Mississippi valley, the orange becomes intense llame-cohu', 



aud there is so much white on the wings as to approach the character of I. hidlocki. VI. S. 



and adjoining British Provinces ; W. to the plains, and reacliiug toward tlie Kocky Mts. 'I'his 



is oiH^ of our famous beauties of bird-life, noted alike for its Hash of color, its assiduity in siug- 



Pio. :;(i.'!. 

 Nichols sc.) 



I>;illiiuoro Oriole 



(Slieitpard dot. 



