ORCHARD ORIOLE. 
213 
male, that it is seldom seen; and that while the males are flying 
around and bewailing an approach to their nest, the females 
keep aloof, watching every movement of the enemy in restless 
but silent anxiety; it is less to be wondered at, I say, that two 
birds of the same kind, but different in plumage, making their 
appearance together at such times, should be taken for male and 
female of the same nest, without doubt or examination, as from 
that strong sympathy for each other’s distress, which prevails 
so universally among them at this season, it is difficult sometimes 
to distinguish between the sufferer and the sympathizing neigh- 
bour. 
The female of the Orchard Oriole, fig. 1, is six inches and a 
half in length, and eleven inches in extent, the colour above is 
a yellow olive, inclining to a brownish tint on the back; the 
wings are dusky brown, lesser wing-coverts tipt with yellowish 
white, greater coverts and secondaries exteriorly edged with 
the same, primaries slightly so; tail rounded at the extremity, 
the two exterior feathers three quarters of an inch shorter than 
the middle ones; whole lower parts yellow; bill and legs light 
blue, the former bent a little, very sharp pointed, and black to- 
wards the extremity; iris of the eye hazel, pupil black. The 
young male of the first season corresponds nearly with the above 
description. But in the succeeding spring, he makes his appear- 
ance with a large patch of black marking the front, lores and 
throat, as represented in fig. 2. In this stage, too, the black 
sometimes makes its appearance on the two middle feathers of 
the tail; and slight stains of reddish are seen commencing on 
the sides and belly. The rest of the plumage as in the female. 
This continuing nearly the same, on the same bird during the 
remainder of the season. At the same time other inviduals are 
found as represented by fig. 3, which are at least birds of the 
third summer. These are mottled with black and olive on the 
upper parts of the back, and with reddish bay and yellow on 
the belly, sides and vent, scattered in the most irregular manner, 
not alike in any two individuals; and generally the two middle 
feathers of the tail are black, and the others centred with the 
