_Icterus leucopteryx._
_Oriolus icterus_, +Linn.+
_Oriolus Mexicanus_, +Leach+.—Zool. Misc. i. pl. 2.
_Icterus leucopteryx_, +Wagl.+
[62] Length 8¹⁄₂ inches, expanse 13, flexure 4³⁄₁₀, tail 3¹⁄₂,
rictus 1, tarsus 1, middle toe ⁸⁄₁₀. Intestine 9 inches; two cæca,
minute, ¹⁄₈ inch long. Irides dark hazel.
This pretty bird is a general favourite; social and confiding in his
manners, without being saucy, he frequents the fruit trees which are
invariably planted around a Jamaican homestead. On an elevated twig
he sits and cheers his mate with his clear, melodious song, which he
trills forth with much energy. Sometimes his notes have considerable
variety, and may properly be called a song; at others he whistles a
quick repetition of two clear notes which much resemble the words _Tom
Paine, Tom Paine_, if we attempt to enunciate them in whistling. Again,
it is a single note quickly repeated, as when we whistle to call a
dog. Besides these, the Banana bird has other sounds, which are very
deceiving, and seem the result of imitation.
Fruit is his principal diet; a ripe banana, or orange, a papaw, or
a bunch of pimento, presents temptations to him; but perhaps still
more acceptable are the various species of _Anona_, the sops and
custard-apples, on whose soft and luscious pulp he delights to regale.
A ripe sour-sop is sure to attract him, in common with the Blue Quits,
with which he mingles. If the part exposed be decomposing, as is often
the case, he may be seen tugging vigorously to pull off portions of
this, which he throws from his beak with a jerk, seeking to arrive at
a part more palatable. When thus engaged in feeding, and particularly
when playfully pursuing the hen among the twigs, his bright yellow coat
glows beautifully through the openings of the green leaves.
I have observed so frequently as to be worthy of notice, that when
shot, the Banana bird grasps the twig on which he was sitting, so
tenaciously as to hang from it, body downwards, until death at length
relaxes the clasp.
The nest of this bird is an interesting structure; like that of the
Baltimore of the Northern continent, it is a deep purse suspended from
two parallel twigs, or from a fork. One before me is composed chiefly
of the wiry fibres plucked from the fronds of the Palmetto-thatch,
with some horse-hair interwoven. Sometimes, where thatch-threads are
scarce, horse-hair alone is used, and the structure is particularly
neat. But the more ordinary material is a vegetable substance, so
closely resembling horse-hair, even on a minute inspection, that I
have had difficulty in persuading intelligent persons that it was
not actual hair, till I applied it to the flame of a candle, when it
burnt without shrivelling. But I am very uncertain what the substance
is; some say it is the _Tillandsia usneoides_ or “Old man’s beard,”
a very common tree-parasite, but it assuredly is not this; I have
suspected it to be the fibrous stem of the Dodder, dried; a nest newly
made, I observed to be of the bright buff hue of that plant, whence I
presumed that the stems are sometimes taken in a recent, and even a
growing state. A friend tells me, that he has, with much gratification,
watched the process of building. The hairs or threads are procured one
by one, and carried to the selected spot, where they are deposited
in a loose heap. From this accumulated mass of material, the work is
carried on, and progresses rapidly, when once begun. When a few threads
are laid and interlaced for the base, the work becomes perceptible
and interesting. Both birds work together; one taking a thread, and
weaving-in one end, holds down the loose part with his beak; while his
mate takes the ends of others projecting, and lays them tightly down
over it, interweaving them with others. Other threads are crossed in
the same manner, in every direction, until a slight but very compact
purse is made, resembling a loose cloth. As it hangs, the texture is so
thin, that a person below can discern the eggs or young within. Four
eggs are laid, pointed at the less end: they are white, marked with a
few angular scratches, and large spots of deep brown, and measure 1
inch by ⁷⁄₁₀. If an intruder attempt to rifle the nest when the young
are there, both old birds fly round in excessive perturbation, and cry
_Tom Paine’s pick-a-ninny_, with vociferous shrillness.
In March I have dissected females, which displayed a brilliance of
plumage, _in no wise_ inferior to that of the male.