Part 12

Within the United States, these large Orioles are found only in southern Texas. They are not uncommon there and are resident. Their notes are loud, mellow whistles like those of the other Orioles. Their nests are semi-pensile and usually placed in mesquite trees not more than ten or fifteen feet from the ground.

SCOTT ORIOLE 504. Icterus parisorum. 8 inches

These beautiful birds are found in southwestern United States, from California to western Texas.

They are said to sing more freely than other members of the family, but the song, while loud and clear, is of short duration. Their nests, which are semi-pensile, are often placed in giant yucca trees, or in vines that are suspended from cacti. The three or four eggs are pale blue, scrawled and spotted with black and lavender (.95 × .65).

HOODED ORIOLE 505. Icterus cucullatus sennetti. 8 inches

This very brilliantly plumaged Oriole is, perhaps, the most abundant of the family in southern Texas. It is not as shy a bird as the two preceding species and is more often found in the neighborhood of houses.

With the exception of a few kinds of fruits, their food consists almost entirely of insects; all the Orioles are regarded as among our most beneficial birds.

Notes.—A harsher and more grating whistle than that of most of the Orioles.

Nest.—Usually in bunches of hanging moss, being made by hollowing out and matting the moss together and lining it with finer wiry moss. Others are placed in yucca trees, such nests being made of the fiber of the tree. Eggs dull white, scrawled about the large end with black and lavender (.85 × .60).

Range.—Found only in southern Texas. A sub-species (nelsoni) is found in New Mexico, Arizona and southern California.

ORCHARD ORIOLE 506. Icterus spurius. 7¼ inches

Male chestnut and black; female dull yellowish and gray; young male, second year, like female, but with black face and throat. These Orioles are usually found in open country and, as their name suggests, have a preference for orchards. They are also found abundantly in shrubbery along streams and roadsides. They feed chiefly upon worms, caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, etc., and are one of the most beneficial birds that we have.

Song.—A rich, loud and rapid warble, cheery and pleasing but impossible to describe; a chattering note of alarm.

Nest.—A beautiful basket of grasses woven into a deeply cupped ball and situated in forks of trees or bushes; often they are made of green grasses. Four to six white eggs, specked, scrawled and spotted with black and brown (.80 × .55).

Range.—U. S. east of the Plains, breeding from the Gulf to Massachusetts and Michigan; winters in Central America.

BALTIMORE ORIOLE 507. Icterus galbula. 7½ inches

Male orange and black; female dull yellowish and gray.

They are sociable birds and seem to like the company of mankind, for their nests are, from choice, built as near as possible to houses, often being where they can be reached from windows. As they use a great deal of string in the construction of their nests, children often get amusement by placing bright-colored pieces of yarn where the birds will get them, and watch them weave them into their homes.

Song.—A clear, querulous, varied whistle or warble; call, a plaintive whistle.

Nest.—A pensile structure, often hanging eight or ten inches below the supporting rim, and swaying to and fro with every breeze. They lay five or six white eggs, curiously scrawled with blackish brown (.90 × .60).

Range.—N. A. east of the Rockies and breeding north to New Brunswick and Manitoba. Winters in Central America.

RUSTY BLACKBIRD 510. Euphagus carolinus. 9½ inches

Male glossy black, female grayish; both sexes in winter with most of the head and breast feathers tipped with rusty. In the United States we know these birds chiefly as emigrants; but a few of them remain to breed in the Northern parts. Their songs are rather squeaky efforts, but still not unmusical. These birds are found east of the Rockies.

BREWER BLACKBIRD 510. Euphagus cyaneocephalus. 10 inches

Male with a glossy purplish head and greenish black body; female grayish brown. This is the Western representative of the preceding; it is most abundant west of the Rockies, but is also found on the Plains. Its distribution is not so northerly and it nests commonly in its United States range. Their eggs are whitish, very profusely spotted and blotched with various shades of brown (1. × .75).

PURPLE GRACKLE 511. Quiscalus quiscula. 12 inches

Male with purple head and greenish back; female brownish gray. All the Grackles are very similar in appearance, the colors varying with different individuals of the same species. Their habits are alike, too, and I consider them one of the most destructive of our birds.

Note.—A harsh “tchack,” and a squeaky song.