SPURIOUS OR ORCHARD ORIOLE. 
167 
young. This precaution of a warm lining, as in the pre- 
ceding species, is, according to Audubon, dispensed with 
in the warm climate of Louisiana. The eggs are 
4 or 5, of a very pale bluish tint, with a few points of 
brown, and spots of dark purple, chiefly disposed at the 
greater end. The female sits about 14 days ; and the 
young continue in the nest 10 days before they become 
qualified to flit along with their parents; but they are gen- 
erally seen abroad about the middle of June. Previously 
to their departure, the young, leaving the care of their 
parents, become gregarious, and assemble sometimes in 
flocks of separate sexes, from 30 to 40 or upwards ; in 
the south frequenting the savannahs, feeding much on 
crickets, grasshoppers, and spiders ; and at this season 
their flesh is much esteemed by the inhabitants.* Wil- 
son found them easy to raise from the nest, but does not 
say on what they were fed, though they probably require 
the same treatment as the Baltimore Oriole. According 
to Audubon, they sing with great liveliness in cages, be- 
ing fed on rice and dry fruits, when fresh cannot be 
procured. Their ordinary diet, it appears, is caterpillars 
and insects, of which they destroy great quantities. In 
the course of the season they likewise feed on various 
kinds of juicy fruits and berries, but their depredations 
on the fruits of the orchard are very unimportant. 
The Orchard Oriole is about 6.^ inches in length. The bill and 
legs of the same color nearly as in the preceding species ; the former, 
however, is a little bent, and very sharp at the point. The iris ha- 
zel. The male , in the 3d year, is mottled on the upper parts of the 
back with black and olive, and on the belly, sides, and breast the 
reddish bay begins irregularly to appear, blended with yellow ; and 
generally the 2 middle feathers of the tail are black, the others being 
centered with the same color. 
Audubon’s Ornithological Biography, vol. i. p. 224. 
