592 BRITISH BIRDS. 



In the charming oasis o£ Biskra the Golden Oriole was a very common 

 bird, and frequented the thickest part of the government garden there. 

 It would sometimes stay in the dense foliage of the trees until I wan- 

 dered beneath them. But notwithstanding its showy dress, it was a most 

 difficult bird to discover in the branches ; and a flutter of wings 

 overhead, a hasty glimpse of yellow in the leaves, and it had gone. I 

 sometimes flushed it from the ground, where it was possibly searching for 

 food. At Lambessa it frequented the tufts of evergreen oaks on the 

 borders of the forest ; and there very often its charming song, heard at 

 dawn and even, filled the air around with gladness. Its habits and flight 

 are very similar to a Thrush." 



The general colour of the Golden Oriole is rich golden yellow ; from 

 the base of the bill to the eye is a black streak ; the wings are black ; the 

 primary-coverts have the terminal third of each feather yelloT\-, forming 

 a conspicuous spot on the wing; the outer edge of the primaries (except 

 the two outermost) and the tips of the secondaries are yellowish white; 

 the two central tail-feathers are black, except at the base, which is 

 dull greenish yellow, and the tip, which is bright yellow ; the other tail- 

 feathers have the basal two thirds black on the outer web and about a third 

 of the inner web in the centre black, the remainder bright yellow. The 

 amount of black on the tail varies considerably. Bill dull orange-red ; 

 legs, feet, and claws dark brown ; irides red. The female is said by most 

 ornithologists to difi'er considerably from the male. In what is taken to 

 be the adult plumage the upper parts are olive-green, brightest on the 

 upper tail-coverts ; the black patch at the base of the bill is replaced by 

 dusky brown ; the wings are duller and browner than in the male, and the 

 secondaries and wing-coverts are tinged with green ; the spot on the wing 

 is dull white ; the tail is similar to that of the male, but the colour is 

 duller and not so clearly defined. The throat, breast, and centre of the 

 belly are greyish white ; the flanks and under tail-coverts are bright yellow, 

 and the throat, breast, and flanks are streaked with dark brown. Young 

 birds resemble this plumage of the female. Birds in nestling plumage 

 have the upper parts olive- brown, spotted with yellow; the uuderparts are 

 yellowish white, streaked with brown ; the flanks and under tail-coverts 

 bright yellow ; the wings and tail similar to the adult's. It is extremely 

 probable that the female Golden Oriole is similar to the male in colour 

 when fully adult ; but the mature plumage is more slowly acquired, the 

 above- described plumage of the female being nothing but an intermediate 

 phase. 



