O'RIOLE (OF. oriel, from Lat. aureolus, gold en). Any of several small birds whose plumage is yellow or orange and black. It was given first to the Old World family Oriolithr, and was nat urally transferred to the American hangnests by early English travelers and settlers on account of the similarity in colors. The American orioles belong to the family and form the sub family leterime, in distinction from the black birds, bobolinks. and meadow larks, from which the orioles differ in the extremely acute, some times deeurved bill, comparatively weak feet. and non-gregarious, arboreal habits. They are agreeable songsters. possess notably handsome plumage. and are renowned as architects. As their nests are usually pensile, the birds are often called 'hangnests.' They are especially character istic of tropical America, where they go by the name of 'caciques.' or, in ,Jamaica, 'banana birds.' The best-known species is the Baltimore oriole (Icterus Tabula), vhiehtranges in summer as far north as the southern provinces of Canada, but winters in Central America. Its name was given to it by Linn:curs, whose first specimen came from in complimentary allusion to the fact that the colors of the male were those of the livery of Sir George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, then proprietor of that colony. The gay plumage has also caused it to be called 'golden robin,' fire-bird,' and 'fire-hang-bird.' The male is about eight inches long. brilliant fire orange, with the whole head, neck, back, wings. and middle tail-feathers black, and with consider able white on the wings. The female is somewhat smaller, much paler, and with the black more or less obscured by olive. The young resemble the female, and do not assume their full plumage before the second year. The Baltimore oriole is one of the most conspicuous birds that the spring migrations bring into the Northern United State-, not merely because of the splendor of his plu mage, but because of his loud, musical whistle. The food consists chiefly of insects. although fruit and young peas and similar delicacies are eagerly accepted when in season, and ripening grapes are injured to a serious extent in the Hudson Valley and certain other localities. See Colored Plate of SONG-BIRDS With THRUSH.
The nest of the Baltimore oriole (see Plate with NIDIFICATION) is the bird's greatest claim to distinction. This admirable structure is woven into the tip of a branch, preferably the drooping limb of an elm or willow, from which it hang=, at some distance from the ground: though other trees are frequently used, the elm is the favorite, as the long, drooping branches afford an ideal location for a hanging nest. The construction of the nest is mainly if not entirely the work of the female. the principal' materials being grass, slen
der strips of bark, strings, hair, and vegetable fibres. These are all closely and very firmly interwoven into a pouch, four or five inches in depth. The eggs are four to six in number, not quite an inch long. white. spotted, scrawled in a curious manner with irregular lines of black or brownish.
Another oriole, which does not range quite so far north or west as the Baltimore, and which is much less conspicuous, though the male is very handsome, is the orchard oriole (leteres speries). A much quieter and more retiring bird than his showy cousin, the orchard oriole is not so often seen or heard, but his song is a more finished product and more melodious. The male is chestnut, with the head and fore parts of the body black, while the female is olive green and dull yellow. The young resemble the female and the males do not assnme full plumage until the third year. The nest is made of grasses. and is not so perfectly pendent as is the Balti more oriole's. The eggs are similar to those of the latter, but are somewhat smaller and not so much -scrawled. (See Plate of Ect:s or Soxc Bums.) Of the remaining 35 or 40 species, prominent example: are the `troopial' (Irteres icteres), a tropical species common in South America. about ten incites long, bright yellow and black; the black-headed oriole (Teterus nieleeoee pieties), another large, rich yellow and black species. occurring in Mexico. a variety of which. known as Audubon's oriole, is found in the lower Rio Grande Valley: and Bullock's oriole ( feteres Bullock-O. a species very similar to the Baltimore bird, which replaces that species in the Far West. See also CAelQUE—a closely allied group.
Consult Ridgway. Birds of North end Middle Anicrice, part ii. (Washington, 1902), and American ornithologies generally.
The oriole- of the Ohl World are a small fam ily of about 40 species, the Uri.)lithe, related to the crow.. They are characteristically Oriental and Australian, though several species occur in Africa, and one ranges throughout Europe. This is tie 'golden' oriole (Orioles orioles), somewhat larger than the Baltimore oriole, and equally brilliant. The song is marvelously rich and flute like, but very short. A very similar Oriental species is the familiar orioles Kundoo, or 'man go-bird.' The outward likeness between these Old World orioles and the American hangnests is increased by the fact that the former also build somewhat penile nests. The 'mimicry' between them and certain honey-eater., (Meli phagidtc) is another very interesting, circum stance, described at length by Wallace, Newton, and Salvadori. Consult Evans, Birds (London. 1900).