522 LAND BIRDS 



within hearing, will fly at the intruder and effectually 

 banish him from the vicinity. When newly hatched, the 

 young orioles are naked, pink babies with little tufts of 

 thin white down on head and back. For nearly a week 

 after they are feathered the down waves rakishly on 

 either side of the crown and about the shoulders, gradu- 

 ally wearing off as they brush about through the bushes. 



Like all oriole babies, these demand the constant 

 attention of both parents, crying loudly for more the 

 moment their mouths are emptied of the last mouthful, 

 not in tlie least trying to help themselves, but following 

 the adults about for a week or two after leaving the nest. 

 No wonder that, worn out by unremitting care of this 

 first brood, the parents have neither the strength nor the 

 time to undertake a second in the same season. I 

 believe the families usually keep together until late in 

 August, when the males join flocks of their own sex for 

 the September migration southward. 



In " The Condor " for July, 1901, the following state- 

 ment with regard to the food habits of this Oriole is 

 worthy of special note : " The chief food of the Orioles 

 consists of insects and injurious caterpillars. . . . They 

 are particularly fond of a small green caterpillar that 

 destroyed the foliage of the prune trees a few years ago. 

 The Orioles are often seen in the berry patches, but they 

 are usually in search of insects, as is proven by an ex- 

 amination of a great number of stomachs." These facts 

 regarding the food habits of our song birds are of great 

 value to the bird-lover, but even more so to the farmer. 

 Naturally he will protect any species which is proven 

 beneficial to his crops. 



