ORIOLUS VIRIDIS.
New South Wales Oriole.

Gracula viridis, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxvil.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. vii. p. 473.
Loriot, Temm. Man. d’Orn., 2nd Edit. p. liv.

Green Grakle, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. i. p. 129.—Ib. Gen. Hist., vol. iii. p. 168.
Coracias sagittata, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxvi.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 400.

 

Striated Roller, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. 11. p. 122.—Ib. Gen. Hist., vol. i. p. 83. &
Streaked Roller, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 84, young. be
Mimetes viridis, King, Survey of Intertropical Coast of Australia, vol. i. p. 419. ; V4
Mimeta viridis, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 326.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pl. 61.—G. R. *
Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit. p. 38. a
——— Meruloides, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 327, young. a
Oriolus viridis, Vieill., 2nd Edit. du Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xviii. p. 197.—Ib. Ency. Méth. Orn., part ii. x
eeOoue u
os variegatus, Vieill., 2nd Edit. du Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xvii. p. 196.—Ib. Ency. Méth. Orn., part ii. mC
a OW Ge

 

Tuts bird was first described by Latham, by whom it was placed in the genus Gracula, but it agrees in no
respect with the members of that genus, and ‘ in fact,” says Captain King, ‘‘ the genus Oriolus is that to
which it bears the closest resemblance in its general appearance. I would at once refer it to that genus,
but that I have some reason to think that it belongs to the meliphagous birds. . . . . Of the tongue or mode
of feeding I can myself say nothing decisively ; but general opinion places this bird among the groups that
feed by suction, and as I have a second species hitherto undescribed which is closely allied to it, I prefer
forming both provisionally into a new genus” (J/imetes) ‘to referrmg them to one, from which, although
they agree with it in external appearance, they may be totally remote in consequence of their internal anatomy
and habits of life. If the tongue be found to accord with that of the Orioles and not of the Honey-suckers,
my group of course must fall.” Messrs. Jardine and Selby took the same view of the subject when de-
scribing and figuring the bird in their “Illustrations of Ornithology,” and have given a description of the
structure of the tongue, which certainly offers a slight resemblance to that of the true meliphagous birds ;
but my own observations of the bird in a state of nature enable me to affirm that in appearance, habits,
economy, and in the nature of its food it is truly an Oriole, to which group of birds it was correctly assigned
by M. Vieillot in the second edition of the “‘ Dictionnaire d’Histoire Naturelle,” and that consequently Captain
King’s generic term Aimetes must sink into a synonym of Oriolus.

The true and probably the restricted habitat of this species is New South Wales, where in the months of
summer it is tolerably plentiful in every part of the colony. I frequently observed it in the Botanic Garden
at Sydney, and in all the gardens of the settlers where there were trees of sufficient size to afford it shelter ;
the brushes of the country, the sides of brooks and all similar situations are equally inhabited by it. I did
not find it in South Australia, neither has it been observed to the westward of that part of the country.
That its range extends pretty far to the northward I have no doubt, as its numbers rather increased than
diminished in the neighbourhood of the rivers Peel and Namoi; and many persons would, I feel assured,
assign to it a much more extended range by considering it identical with the bird of the same form found at
Port Essington,—an opinion in which I cannot myself coincide, believing as I do that the latter bird is a
distinct species, although at a hasty glance it would appear to be one and the same; the general colouring
of the two birds is, it is true, very similar, but the following differences exist and are found to be con-
stant :—The Port Essington bird (for which the specific term afinis would be an appropriate appellation) is
smaller in the body, has a shorter wing, a much larger bill, and the white spots at the tip of the lateral
tail-feathers considerably smaller than the bird inhabiting New South Wales; in other respects they are so
precisely alike that it will not be necessary to figure both.

The following notes descriptive of their habits and economy are equally applicable to the one and the
other.

The bird observed by me in New South Wales was bold and active, and was often seen in company with
the Regent, Satin and Cat Birds, feeding in the same trees and on similar berries and fruits, particularly
the small wild fig. It possesses a loud pleasing whistling note, which is poured forth while the bird is
perched on a lofty branch. I often observed it capturing insects on the wing and flying very high, fre-
quently above the tops of the loftiest trees.

Mr. Gilbert states that the Port Essington bird is ‘“ abundant in every part of the peninsula and the