12 THE. AU DU BON, BU bein 
extent, as it turns yellow as the leaves of the tree begin to dry and fade. 
The female builds the nest, but both parents care for the young. 
Orchard orioles are sociable birds and as many as nine nests have been 
found near together. Most ornithological writers comment upon the sur- 
prising fact that the usually unfriendly kingbird makes no trouble for the 
orchard oriole, who may choose to nest in the same tree with him. The 
ege’s are a bluish-white marked with irregular lines and streaks and a few 
dots of brown. The incubation period is about two weeks, and the young 
remain in the nest 10 days longer. 
I once discovered an orchard oriole’s nest that was placed on an over- 
hanging branch not more than two feet above my head (the birds usually 
ness at from 10 to 40 feet from the ground). The young birds were pre- 
paring to leave the nest and were very active. At this stage of their 
growth they look like charming little canaries. Unlike Baltimore oriole 
babies, they make no pronounced outcry. 
Unlike young mockingbirds, the young orioles have no ‘‘whisper” song 
and exercise no care not to strain their throats. The song is remarkable 
for its rapidity and harmony. The year old orchard orioles of Wilmette 
Harbor sang melodiously and long with a rich, smooth-flowing beauty. 
The birds sing until late August. 
The diet of the orchard orioles is chiefly insects. They like plant lice, 
small caterpillars, flles and wasps found around blossoms. They are not 
often seen on the ground but they will sometimes visit strawberry beds for 
the fruit and they eat some of wild fruits. After the young leave the nest 
sometimes the entire family retires to cornfields to feed upon insect enemies 
of the corn. 
9 
3. Western Orioles. The orioles of the west and southwest are larger 
than those of the east and the females in most cases have grayish rather 
than greenish backs. Most of them winter in Mexico. 
The large Audubon orioles (8 to 9% inches) are interesting in that 
they comprise the only species of orioles in North America in which the 
sexes are similar. The Audubon oriole is a yellow bird with black head, 
wings, and tail. It is the only oriole with a yellowish back. It does not 
range as far west as does the Scott oriole, but is resident in the lcwer 
Rio Grande valley of Texas. 
In the west, from Canada south into Mexico, the Bullock’s oriole takes 
the place of the Baltimore oriole of the east. The ranges of the two species 
overlap only from the foothills of the Rockies to central.South Dakota, 
Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas. The Bullock’s oriole spends the winter in 
Mexico. The male of this species is distinctive with his black crown, black 
line through the eye, black throat, large white wing-patches, and bright 
orange cheeks and under parts. The young male resembles his mother, but 
has a black throat. The female has a yellow throat but otherwise whitish 
underparts and a gray back. The song and call notes, the nest, and eggs 
are scarcely distinguishable from those of the Baltimore oriole. After the 
breeding season the. bright feathers of these birds become edged with 
grayish or whitish which wears off as spring advances. “This masking of 
