452 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 
peckers, Robins, and Blue Jays, while Catbirds and occasionally Bronzed 
Grackles, take a hand in the work. ; ; ; 
On the other hand, the good work done by the Oriole in the consumption 
of harmful insects can hardly be overestimated. The examination of 113 
stomachs in the Division of Biological Survey, U. 8. Department of Agri- 
culture, reveals the fact that more than 83 percent of the food of the year 
consists of animal matter, almost all of which is insects. Of this material 
the most important item is caterpillars which form more than 34 percent 
of the whole. Next come beetles, among which the snapping-beetles, 
of the family Elateride, whose larvee are known as wire-worms, seem to 
be preferred. May-beetles are also eaten greedily and the destructive 
leaf-beetles (Chrysomelide) usually avoided by birds, seem also to be a 
favorite food. Weevils are often taken, and wasps, ants and bees are 
consumed in some numbers. Perhaps the most interesting item in this 
connection is the fact that the Oriole eats considerable numbers of scale 
insects (Coccidx) and plant-lice (Aphid), two of the most destructive 
families of insects known. These are so minute that it is remarkable the 
birds should eat them, but any one who has watched the Oriole gleaning 
among the opening buds of apple trees will realize that a single bird must 
destroy thousands of plant-lice daily. Forbes found that it ate canker- 
worms freely in Illinois, and Trimble, in New Jersey, found the wing-covers 
of the plum-curculio in its stomach. It has been noted also by many 
different observers that the Baltimore Oriole feeds freely on the apple-tree 
tent caterpillar, tearing open the silken web in order to reach the young 
insects and returning again and again to feast upon them. The writer 
has watched the bird thus employed in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New 
York and Michigan. Not a few grasshoppers and locusts are eaten also, 
but it must be remembered that almost all the Oriole’s food is gleaned from 
trees, and that it seldom searches for food on the ground. On the whole, 
it is one of our most valuable, as well as most beautiful birds, and the little 
harm done is more than compensated by the blessings conferred in the 
destruction of insects. 
‘Added to these good qualities, its brilliant plumage, sprightly manners, 
pleasing song, and skill in nest-building excite our admiration. Let the 
farmer continue to hold his good opinion of the Oriole and accord to it 
the protection it so well deserves.’”’ (Beal.) 
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 
Bill much stouter than that of Orchard Oriole; conical, acute, slightly if at all decurved; 
tail but slightly graduated. 
Adult male: Upper parts from bill to middle of back, including scapulars, glossy black, 
this color covering neck, chin and throat, and usually extending downward on the middle 
of the chest; rest of under parts rich orange or deep yellow (very variable), brightest on the 
chest; wings mainly black, with a single white bar across tips of greater coverts, the tertiaries 
margined with white, and the lesser coverts (shoulders) bright orange; tail yellow at base 
and tip, each feather with a broad area of black in the middle, most on the middle feathers 
and least on the lateral pair; bill and legs horn-blue; iris pale brown. In late summer, 
after moulting, the white wing-markings are wider and much more conspicuous. 
Adult female: Rather smaller than the male and otherwise very different. Upper parts 
dull brownish yellow, more or less mottled or obscurely spotted on head and back with 
blackish; chin and middle of belly whitish; rest of under parts dull yellow, often with obscure 
dusky markings on throat and chest; wings grayish-brown with two white bars; tail greenish 
yellow without black markings. Young: Similar to female, but young males acquire 
the color pattern of the old male (but not the brilliance) in the second year, 
Length 7 to 8.15 inches; wing 3.50 to 3.90; tail 2.85 to 3.35. 
