r 8 BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 



who have undertaken to figure and describe these birds, have 

 mistaken the proper males and females, and confounded the 

 two species together in a very confused and extraordinary 

 manner, for which, indeed, we ought to pardon them, on 

 account of their distance from the native residence of these 

 birds, and the strange alterations of colour which the latter 

 are subject to. 



This obscurity I have endeavoured to clear up in the 

 present volume of this work, Plate IV., by exhibiting the 

 male and female of the Oriolus spurius in their different 

 changes of dress, as well as in their perfect plumage ; and by 

 introducing representations of the eggs of both, have, I hope, 

 put the identity of these two species beyond all future dispute 

 or ambiguity. 



Almost the whole genus of orioles belong to America, and, 

 with a few exceptions, build pensile nests.* Few of them, 

 however, equal the baltimore in the construction of these 

 receptacles for their young, and in giving them, in such a 

 superior degree, convenience, warmth, and. security. For 

 these purposes he generally fixes on the high bending extre- 

 mities of the branches, fastening strong strings of hemp or 



tail, destitute of black ; and the under parts paler than in the adult, 

 without any approach to the vivid orange tints displayed on it. In 

 that of the second spring, the distribution of colour has become the 

 same as in the adult male, but the yellow is less vivid ; the upper 

 mandible is brownish black above, and the iris is light brown : in the 

 third spring, they receive the rich and brilliant plumage described by 

 our author. — Ed. 



* The true orioles, having the Oriolus galbula of Europe and Africa, 

 with 0. melanocephalus of India, as typical, are entirely excluded from 

 the New World ; nevertheless Wilson was perfectly correct, meaning 

 the Icteri of Brisson, which are nearly confined to North and South 

 America, represent the orioles in that country, and have now been 

 arranged into several genera. These contain many species remarkable 

 as well for their elegant form and bright and beautiful plumage, as for the 

 singular and often matchless workmanship of their nests. The materials 

 of the latter are woven and entwined in such a way as would defy the 

 skill of the most expert sempstress, and unite all the requisites of dry- 

 ness, security, and warmth. They are mostly pendulous from the ends of 



