Icterus spurius, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 51.
Oriolus spurius, Gmel, Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 389—Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. i. p. 180.
Bastard Baltimore, Lath. Synops. vol. ii. p. 433.
Orchard Oriole, Oriolus mutatus, Wils. Americ. Ornith. vol. i. p. 64. Pl. iv. fig. 1, 2, 3, 4.
Male in complete plumage. Plate XLII. Fig. 1, 2.
Bill conical, slender, longish, compressed, a little curved, very acute, with inflected acute margins; upper mandible obtuse above, lower broadly obtuse beneath. Nostrils oval, covered by a membrane above, basal. Head and neck of ordinary size. Body rather slender. Feet of ordinary length; tarsus a little longer than the middle toe; inner toe little shorter than the outer; claws arched, compressed, acute, that of the hind toe twice the size of the others.
Plumage soft, blended, glossy. Wings of ordinary length, the second and third primaries longest. Tail long, rounded, of twelve rounded feathers.
Bill black above with light blue margins, light blue beneath. Iris reddish-brown. Feet light blue. Head, neck, and upper back black; the rest of the body dusky orange-red, approaching to chestnut. Quills and larger coverts black, margined with yellow, the latter tipped with yellowish-white; tail black.
Length 6½ inches, extent of wings 9; bill along the ridge 7⁄12, along the gap 3⁄4; tarsus 1, middle toe 5⁄6.
Adult Female. Plate XLII. Fig. 5.
Bill, feet and iris, as in the male. Head and upper parts brownish-green. Wings and tail greenish-brown; wing-coverts tipped with white; throat white, sides of the neck and under parts generally greyish-yellow. The young of both sexes resemble the female.
Male, first autumn and spring. Plate XLII. Fig. 3.
A patch of black on the throat, continued upwards over the lore and forehead. Head and upper parts brownish-green; fore part of the back orange; a yellow band over the eye. Under parts light yellow. Wings and tail as in the female, but the coverts tipped with yellow.
