Note 34 — Family ICTERIDÆ.—The Orioles. (continued 2)

An attempt at division into subgenera is as follows:—

Icterus, bill stout, conical, the culmen and gonys nearly straight. Tail graduated. Species: vulgaris, auduboni, melanocephalus.

Xanthornus, bill slender, slightly decurved. Tail graduated. Species: wagleri, parisorum, spurius, cucullatus.

Hyphantes, bill stout, conical; the culmen and gonys straight. Tail slightly rounded. Species: baltimore, bullocki, abeillei.

We do not find, however, that these subgenera are very tangible, excepting Hyphantes, which is rather well marked by square tail and straight outlines of the bill, as indicated above. The differences are really so minute, and the characters so variable with the species, that it seems entirely unnecessary to subdivide the genus.