re ead

    
   
   
   
    
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
    
  
    
  
   
   
    
  

. erie cherries, of which the Oriole is very fond
If unable to find a sufficient supply of berries, mulberries, figs, and cherries, of ie te ' ’ | ,
Bo i: E : ine the first few days after their arrival they
° Room nua “no the first few days after y
it resorts to caterpillars, worms, insects, and their larve. During ae | d ieee
: Seals relude to ‘Ir USUE re-like
: 2 Os Ly - afew detached notes—a kina oF pret
utter, especially in the morning and evening, a few dete poles Ue ee eee ei
hich is not poured forth before the 10th of May, by which time their voice has attamed ‘
cry, which is not p Nea

ofS , (eS ea

aang ai iS ea

| . F e » they seem to say a= ere | or only | (= =
variety. From that date until the 15th or 20th of July they see J <re—ee a

eo
ou ri ous ou ons riou)

It is this song which has obtained for the

 

which is accompanied or preceded bya kind of mewing (ouin-uin). a a - oa
i ifte ich it is k m in Savoy, according to the fancy of those who hear It. 1uS
bird the different names by which it is known in Savoy, according t ancy
one says it articulates owriouw or Jouriou, others think it ] ne 7
cherries are ripe); it is from the latter that the saying has arisen, ‘It is the Oriole who eats the cherries anc
: 9 ‘ . c foe -

; . *t savs. combien det choz voig? (how much veal ?).” After
leaves the stones ;’ others, again, affirm that it says, combien det choz vorz 2 al ?)
enumerating a number of places in whieh it breeds, M. Bailly states that it habitually resorts to large trees,

5 < oe Sc eee ae
Sometimes it is attracted within shot by an imitation of its

yronounces the words, les cerises sont mires (the

among which it is very difficult of approach. : meee
notes with the mouth or a bird-call ; but to be successful the imitation must be perfect, for if a false note
be given, the bird changes its tone, and flies mewing owin-win.

The nest is built in high trees; and, during the first fortnight in May, the two ce together and
firmly attach it to a bifurcation of the branches, often where they are so flexible ina . ne SunLcer by every
wind that blows. They employ pieces of straw and hemp, with spiders’ webs and similar Se to secure
them to the branches, and to unite the whole together. One of these threads passes straight from one
branch to the other, and forms the border of the nest in front ; another, rolled underneath, penetrates the
material of the nest, and is wound round the opposite branch to give the work stability. The interior of
the nest is composed of wool, spiders’ webs, caterpillars’ silk, the down of flowers, horsehair, and very fine
| blades of grass. As soon as the work is finished, the female deposits four or five eggs, which are mostly

oblong in form, but some are attenuated, and terminate in a point: they are of a beautiful rosy white,
spotted with black or brownish black, particularly at the larger end. The female sits so closely that I
have twice seen her taken from the nest with the hands. The male feeds her while thus occupied, and
takes her place for the few moments she occasionally leaves the nest. The young are hatched about the
seventeenth or eighteenth day; and the parents feed them with caterpillars, small worms, and sweet and
tender fruits. If the young be taken, the parents continue lamenting for several days, and seem to claim
their progeny by mewing on the very tree on which they were produced. If, during their desolation, they
happen to discover where the captives are, they continue calling to them all day from the summit of the
nearest tree; and the captors, recognizing the cry, place the cage with the young on a tree near to their house.
The parents will then give them food through the bars for a time, but cease to do so as soon as they judge
them capable of feeding themselves: this cessation often takes place without being noticed, and the young
are left to die in their prison; when this occurs, the ignorant country-people imagine that the parents have
poisoned them in despair of ever seeing them again at liberty.
The young are reared with much difficulty, from a supply of their usual food uot being easily procurable ;
they may, however, be fed successfully with bread-crumbs, hemp-seed, and kernels pounded together, bits of
raw fresh meat, worms, the larvee of silk-worms, and dried fruits, which latter must be softened before being
given to them. They soon become familiar and even attached to the person who takes care of them, and
will eat out of his or her hand.

All the members of the genus Orio/us are inbabitants of the Old World,
Two or three are natives of Africa, and as many more of Ind
are found in the Philippines and the other islands lying
Java and Sumatra. Wherever they aly ei

none beimg found in America.
ia and China; but by far the finest of the whole
southward, as far as Australia. Orioles also occur in
are, their habits and economy are very sinilar, When hanging in
search of food from the outermost branches of the ; oF |

a green-foliaged trees, which they all do more or less,
they exhibit many graceful actions.

As might be inferred from the lengthened

wings, they have a quicker and more Swallow-like flicht than the true Thrushes
yy si 0 o :
That the young may be brought up In cages is ¢

Zoological Gardens at Amsterdam,

and pointed form of their

ertain; for I saw four which had been thus reared in the
' These nestling birds, which had been taken about the 18th of July,
differed from the adult in the more sombre hue of their plumage, in having the bill of a purplish flesh-
colour, the irides dark brown, and their thick and swollen tarsi Ci a pale ice

The Plate represents a male of the size of life
latter sex is figured in the colouring

assumes the colouring of the male.

, and contains a reduced figure of the female and nest. The
usually seen; but, as mentioned before

, It is said that she sometimes
The plant is the common Maple (de

er campestre).