36 
OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: BULLETIN 250 
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, Zamelodia ludoviciana (Linn.) 
This species is of much less frequent occurrence than the 
preceding-. It is a summer resident only in the northern part of 
the state, occurring in the southern part as a migrant. It is usually 
found in woodlands near rural dwelling’s, and is, therefore, of great 
economic value to the farmer. 
Its food is similar to that of the Cardinal, except that animal 
matter is taken in excess of vegetable (52 to 48 percent). It is one 
of the few birds that eat the Colorado Potato Beetle. The vegetable 
diet consists of 15.74 percent weed seeds; 5.09 percent grain; 1.37 
percent garden peas; 19.3 percent wild fruit; 6.5 percent miscel¬ 
laneous, including cultivated fruit, buds, flowers and seeds of trees. 
The greater part of the animal food eaten is made up of destructive 
insects. 
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES AND RELATIVES 
The Icteridae, including the Blackbirds, Orioles and allies, is 
another distinctively American family. Great diversity of plumage 
and habits is found among members of this group; birds of brilliant 
hue, unsurpassed songsters, unique nest builders, and parasites are 
all represented. The Orioles, alone of the family, are non-gregar- 
ious, while most of the others are the most gregarious of our birds. 
The food comprises both vegetable and animal matter, the vegetable 
taking precedence for most species. 
BALTIMORE ORIOLE, Icterus galbula (Linn.) 
The first intimation that this Oriole has arrived in the spring, is 
the rich flute-like notes wafted to the ear on the perfume-laden air, 
as the bird gleans the insects from among the blossoms. The rich, 
flame-gold and jet of the male makes him, next to the Scarlet 
Tanager, the most brilliant and conspicuous of our birds. As a nest 
builder, this bird has no peer. The artistic and skillfully woven, 
pouch-shaped nest is suspended from the tips of a drooping 
branch. Of all trees, the American Elm is preferred for nesting. 
The nests vary in depth; those found away from human habitations 
are usually deeper than those found near dwellings; because of the 
greater protection afforded nests from their natural enemies in the 
latter situation, the greater depth is not necessary. Nestlings of 
this species are comparatively safe from owls, squirrels, or storms, 
while in the nest, but eggs are sometimes broken as the nest sways 
in the wind. 
