142 
ICTERUS BALTIMORE. 
GENUS VI. ICTERUS. THE ORIOLES. 
Gen. Cn. Bill , much pointed, not very broad at tip , shorter than the head. Upper and lower mandibles a little curved. 
Wings, somewhat lonyer than the tail which is slightly rounded. Feet, not large. Sternum, not nearly as narrow as that of 
the preceding genus. Keel, rather low. Coracoids, equal in length to the top of the keel. Marginal indentations equal in 
depth to the height of the keel. Stomach, not muscular. Size, medium. 
Members of this genus are conspicuously marked either above or below with bright colors or with black. They are 
all arboreal in habits. 
ICTERUS BALTIMORE. 
Baltimore Oriole. 
“Icterus Baltimore Daudin,” Aud., Orn. Biog., I; 1831, 66. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Sp. Cn. Form, rather slender. Size, medium. Feet, riot large. Tongue, thin and horny, with a slight central de¬ 
pression, bifid at tip, provided with a fringe of cilia extending along the sides for one third the terminal length. Sternum, 
rather stout. 
Color. Adult male in summer. Head, all around neck coming down into a triangle on the breast, back, wings, and 
band across tail reaching to the tips of central pair, black, also bar on tips of greater wing coverts and outer edges of out¬ 
er webs of all the wing feathers, white. Remaining portions, orange-yellow, brightest on the breast. Upper mandible, 
black, blue on lower edges. Lower mandible and feet, blue. 
Adult female in summer. Beneath, uniform yellow, tinged with orange on the breast. Upper portions, including the 
tail, yellowish-brown, brightest on the head and rump. No black band on the tail. Wings, brown, with white markings 
as in the males. Bill, bluish throughout. Feet, blue. 
Adult male in autumn.- Much brighter beneath than in spring, the breast frequently becoming orange-carmine. The 
back has a faint overwashing of orange and the rump is tinged with dusky. There is much more white on the wings which 
is yellowish. 
Adult female in autumn. Much deeper in color below, and the back is more uniformly overwashed with yellowish- 
brown. The wings have much more white. 
Young male. Has much more white on the wings, and the rump is overwashed with yellowish-brown. There is only 
a slight indication of the black bar on the tail, the central feathers becoming perfect first. The color below is not nearly as 
bright. 
Young female. Is much lighter in color below, showing none of the orange tinging on the breast. The back is not as 
clear black. 
Young of the year in spring. The males are mottled on the back with yellowish-brown and black. The black of the 
lower neck only extends in spots on the breast, and the color below is pale showing only a tinge of orange. The female is 
very pale. 
Young of the year in autumn. The males show no black whatever and both sexes are tinged with orange below. The 
back is pale, otherwise the plumage is similar to the female in autumn. Bill, brown, considerably lighter at base of lower 
mandible. 
Nestlings. Very pale-yellow beneath and paler brown above. Wings and tail as in the last plumage. Bill, brown 
throughout. Feet, blue. The wings and tail feathers are not moulted. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
I have described the average brightest plumage of the adult, but I once procured a specimen that had a carmine streak 
down the breast. A local race of perfectly adult specimens which I procured on the islands in the Susquehanna River at 
Williamsport, Pennsylvania, differ in being of a nearly uniform pale-yellow beneath and in having considerable white on 
the wings. Readily known by the colors as described. Distributed in summer from the Carolinas north to Canada, on the 
eastern side of the Central Plains. Wintering south of the United States. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Average measurements of twenty-five specimens. Length, 7 62; stretch, 11*65; wing, 3*71; tail, 2'82; bill, ‘72; tar¬ 
sus, ‘85. Longest specimen, 8*00; greatest extent of wing, 12*25; longest wing, 4*00; tail, 3*10; bill, *75; tarsus, *90. 
Shortest specimen, 7*25; smallest extent ofwing, 11*15; shortest wing, 3*42; tail, 2*65; bill, *70; tarsus, *80. 
DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 
Nests, placed in trees, pendulous in form, composed of strips of fibrous bark, horse-hair, strings, rags, etc., neatly and 
firmly woven together. Dimensions; external diameter, 4'00, internal, 2*00. External depth, 6*00, internal, 5*00. 
Eggs, four to six in number, oval in form, pale-blue in color, spotted, dotted, and lined with umber. Some of the 
markings are incorporated in the material of the shell. Dimensions from - 90 x *60 to 1*20 x '72. 
