86 
MERULID.E 
been taken in England have been met with on the eastern or 
soutlicrn coast, but it sometimes penetrates more inland ; we 
have ourselves seen it on Burwood Common, near Walton 
on Thames, in Surrey. This individual, a fine male in per¬ 
fect golden plumage, -was seated upon the branch of a tree by 
the road, side ; it was probably on its migration, or it would 
not have shown itself so openly : on being approached the 
bird flew across a field, wdiere we had a full view of it, and 
finally eluded pursuit. In the same locality, we remember 
to have heard some years previously the call-note of this 
species, but were not able to get a sight of the bird. 
The genus Oriolus of Temminck, which that author has 
separated from certain American species nearly allied, is thus 
characterised:—Beak in form of a lengthened cone, flattened 
at the base, laterally compressed near the tip ; upper mandi¬ 
ble nearly straight at the base, gently arched towards the tip, 
and bearing a prominent ridge along the upper line, toothed 
near the extremity ; nostrils basal, lateral, naked, and hori¬ 
zontally pierced in a large membrane ; tarsus shorter than, or 
equal to the middle toe ; wings having the first quill very 
short, the second shorter than the third, which is the longest. 
The Oriole measures about nine inches and a half in 
length, and eighteen in expanse. The tail is about three 
inches and a half long, the feathers nearly even at the end, 
and the wings, when at rest, cover three-fourths of its length. 
The beak is nearly an inch long, and about five lines broad 
at the base. The nostril oval. The colour of the beak 
varies from pale reddish-brown to dull black, according to age 
or sex. 
The entire body of the adult male is brilliant yellow, in¬ 
cluding the head, neck, and tippet, the breast, and all the 
under parts. The wings and tail are black, with the ex¬ 
ception of the tips of the spurious wing feathers, which are 
yellow, and of the terminal portion of most of the side fea- 
