ZOOLOGY. 
209 
I found them quite abundant on the ploughed fields neai’ Fort Vancouver. Some of these had 
probably remained throughout the winter. I found them quite abundant at Fort Steilacoom 
in February, 1856. At Fort Dalles, on the 2d of May, 1855, I obtained young birds nearly 
fledged.—S. 
ICTEKUS BULLOCKII, Bon. 
Bullock’s Oriole. 
Xanlhomus bullockii, Sw. Syn. Mex. Birds, Taylor’s Phil. Mag. I, 1827, 436. 
Agelaius bullockii, Rich. Rep. Brit. Assoc. 1 837. 
Icterus bullockii, Bon. List, 1838 .—Aud. Orn. Biog. V. 1839, 9; pi. 388 and 433.— Ib. Birds Amer. IV, 1842, 43; pi- 
218.— Newberry, Rep. P. R. R. VI, it, 1857, 87.— Baird, Gen. Rep. Birds, p. 549. 
Sp. Ch.—T ail very slightly graduated. Upper part of the head and neck, back, wings, two central tail feathers, line from base 
of bill through the eye to the back of the nape, and a line from the base of the bill running to a point on the throat, black- 
Under parts generally, sides of head and neck, forehead and line over the eye, rest of tail feathers, rump, and upper tail coverts, 
yellow orange. A broad band on the wings, involving the greater and middle coverts, and the outer edges of the quills, white. 
Young male with the black replaced by greenish yellow, that on the throat persistent; female without this. 
Length, about 7.50 inches; wing, 3.80; extent 12; iris brown, bill, black above, bluish below, feet gray. 
Hab. —High Central Plains to the Pacific; rare on upper Missouri; south into Mexico; more abundant in the sparsely wooded 
districts of the eastern base of the Cascade mountains than in the coast region of Washington Territory. 
Bullock’s oriole does not arrive at Puget Sound until the beginning of June, and is not very 
common there. Its habits are similar to those of the orchard oriole, it being shy and difficult to 
discover among the foliage. Its song is more like that of the Baltimore, loud, clear, and varied. 
Nuttall appears to have mistaken this song for that of the black-headed grosbeak, which I never 
met with in the Territory, and calls this oriole a poor musician. From its shyness and similar 
colors such a mistake might easily occur. 
A nest, probably of this species, I found in California in November, containing eggs, which 
had been deserted. It was entirely formed of white horsehair and cotton twine, and suspended 
in a low branch of an oak.—C. 
This beautiful bird is exceedingly abundant at Fort Dalles, and also along the east base of 
Mount Adams, in Washington Territory. In the spring it arrives at'Fort Dalles at the same 
time as the Muscicapa verticalis. During May they are very abundant among the low oaks of 
that place. The song of the male is very pleasant, and is especially melodious early in the morn¬ 
ing, when the bird is generally perched on the sunny side or top of an oak. I saw one or two indi¬ 
viduals of this species on the Nisqually plains, Puget Sound, in the summer of 1854; whereas, 
in 1856, although I kept a bright lookout for it, I did not see one. This shows that this bird, 
like many others, is subject to caprices of migration. I obtained several skins at Fort Dalles, 
where, during the breeding season, it is easily obtained. 
A specimen (No. 168) of a male of this species, obtained by me at Fort Dalles May 7, 1855, 
exceeded the average measurements given under the head of “specific characters:” length, 
8.08; extent, 12.75; wing, 4.—S. 
SCOLECOPHAGUS CYANOCEPHALUS. 
Brewer’s Blackbird. 
Psarocolius cyanocephalus, Wagler, Isis, 1829,758. 
Scolecophagus cyanocephalus, Cabanis, Mus. Hein. 1851, 193. 
Scolecophagus mexicanus, Swainson, Anim. in Men. 2£ cent. 1838, 302.— Bon. Conspectus, 1850, 423. —Newberry, Zool- 
Cal. and Or. Route; Rep. P. R. R. Surv. VI, iv, 1857, 86. 
Quiscalus breweri, Aud. Birds Amer. VII, 1843, 345; pi. 492. 
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