Page:The Common Birds of Bombay.djvu/111

Rh spots. I think March or April is the usual season, but I have only once myself found a nest.

Of the true Orioles, or Golden Orioles, there are several species in India, two of which may be seen in Bombay. They are all splendid birds, more gorgeous than the Green Bulbul, and larger, being nearly the size of a starling. The commonest is the Indian Oriole (Oriolus kundoo), which is of a uniform, bright beautiful yellow, excepting on the eyebrows, the points of the wings (the quill feathers) and part of the tail, which are black. The beak is pink and the eyes are red. The female is tinged with greenish, and the young are very green and altogether a little "dowdy" compared with their parents. The Indian Oriole's nest is a loose cup, or bag, hung in a fork of a high tree. It is made of fine grass and fibres and any other materials that the bird finds serviceable. Jerdon found a nest tied about with a long, strip of cloth, three-quarters of an inch in width, which had been stolen from the dirzie in the verandah. The theft was not actually proved, but there was strong ground for suspicion. There arc usually three eggs, white with dark claret-coloured spots. But you are not likely to find an Oriole's nest in Bombay. These birds leave us at the beginning of the hot season and go to drier climes inland to bring up their young. They return in September, with their families, and are very noisy on first arrival. The usual note of the Indian Oriole is a rich mellow whistle, which Jerdon spells peeho. The French name of the bird, loriot, seems to me to give the sound better. It has also a harsher cry.