IOTEEINiE. 
18 often hemispherical, externally three inches deep by two in breadth ; the concavity scarcely two inches deep by two in 
diameter. The exterior is woven with fibres or stalks of dried grass, and the inside is usually composed of wool, or of 
ot her soft materials, wherein the female deposits four or more eggs. This nest is generally suspended from the branches 
of fruit trees. 
t* X - Bonana (Linn.) PL enl. 535. f. 1. 
2 - X. dominicensis (Linn.) PI. enl. 5. f. 2. — Pendulinus flavi- 
gaSter Vieiu - Voy. l’lle de Cuba, Ois. t. 19. bis. 
X. chrysoccphalus (Linn.) Spix Av. Bras. t. 67- f. 1 • — Gra- 
CU a ch, ysoptera Merr. Icon. Av. t. 3. 
"or X ' ca yanensis (Linn.) PI. enl. 535. f. 2., Edwards’ Birds, pi. 
° ■’ Swains. Zool. 111. pi. 22. — Agelaius chrysopterus Vieitt. 
O' X. chrysocarpus Vigors, Proc. Z. S. 1832. 3. 
• X. tibialis (Swains.) Two Cent, and a Quarter, p. 302. 
7. X. varius (Gmel.) PI. enl. 607. f. 1. — Oriolus castaneus 
Lath. ; Or. spurius Gmel. PL enl. 506. f. 2. ; Or. mutatus Wils. 
Amer. Orn. pi. 4. ; Pendulinus solitarius et P. viridis Vieill. 
8. X. mesomelas (Liclit.) Isis, 1829- P- 7 55. — Icterus atro- 
gularis Less. Cent. Zool. t. 22. 
9. X. viridis (Gmel.) — Oriolus virescens Lath. 
10. X. nidipendulus (Gmel.) Sloane Jam. pi. 258. f. 3. 
11. X. aurantius (Valenc.) Less. Tr. d’Orn. p. 428. 
12. X. jugularis (Lath.) Pl. enl. 559- — Turdus ater Gmel. 
13. X. flams Daud. Pl. enl. 607. f. 2. — Oriolus capensis Gmel. 
Yphantes Vieill .* 
Bill conic, shorter than the head, the culmen and lateral margins straight, the former advancing on 
the forehead in a point, the tip acute, and the sides compressed ; the nostrils basal, lateral, with the 
°Pening oval, and protected by a membrane. Wings lengthened and pointed, with the first quill nearly 
as lon g as the second and third, which are equal and longest. Tail moderate and nearly square. 
Tarsi as long as the middle toe and scaled. Toes moderate, with the lateral ones equal, the hind one as 
1 
° n S as the lateral, and all strongly scaled above. 
These birds are found only in North America. They are birds of passage, remaining in the Northern States during 
t 6 Gunner, and returning to the Southern States for the winter. They generally prefer living on fruit or on other 
. rees tha t are close to the residences of man. Their migration is performed during the day, and high above all the trees, 
a a straight and continuous course; when the evening approaches they alight on the lower branches of the trees to 
tW 3 aQ( ^ a ^ erwar( is to rest. These birds vary much in colour before arriving at then’ adult plumage, which is not till the 
([ lr< i.year. Their principal food consists of caterpillars, beetles, and other insects. Wilson describes the nest thus. 
fr generally fixed on the high bending extremities of the branches, by fastening a strong str ing of hemp or flax i ounc 
j"’ 0 for ked twigs corresponding to the intended width of the nest : with the same materials mixed with quantities of 
Se f °w, the bird interweaves or fabricates a strong firm kind of cloth, not unlike the substance of a hat in its raw 
? ate > forming it into a pouch of six or seven inches in depth, lining it substantially with various soft substances, well 
^'cr woven with the outward netting, and lastly finished with a layer of horse-hair; the whole being shaded from the 
11 an d rain by a natural penthouse or canopy of leaves.” The female generally deposits five eggs. 
Y. 
Baltimore (Linn.) Vieill. Pl enl. 506. f. 1., 
Wils. Amer. Orn. pl. 1. f. 3., ami pl. 53. f. 4. - Icterus minor Briss. 
* Vieillot established this genus in 1816 {Analyse, p. 33.). 
October, 1844. 
