Note 41 — Family ICTERIDÆ.—The Orioles. (continued 2)
Reading edition
Icterus melanocephalus, Gray. Psarocolius melanocephalus, Wagler, Isis, 1829, 756. Icterus melanocephalus, Gray, Genera.—Sclater, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1858, 97.—Cassin, Pr. A. N. S. 1867, 53.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 543. Xanthornus melanocephalus, Bon. Consp. 1850, 434 (description of young only). ? Icterus graduacauda, Lesson, Rev. Zoöl. 1839, 105.
Sp. Char. Similar to I. auduboni, but without any white whatever on the wing. Head and neck all round, wings, scapulars, and tail, uniform pure black. Rest of body, including inside of wing and tibia and the lesser wing-coverts, orange-yellow; clouded with olivaceous-green on the back, less so on the rump. Bill and legs plumbeous, the former whitish at base. Length, 7.70; wing, 3.75; tail, 4.80. Hab. Warm parts of Mexico.
Very like the auduboni, but smaller, the bill much stouter, shorter, and the culmen more curved. The third quill is longest; the fourth, fifth, and second successively a little shorter; the first and seventh about equal. The black of the head and neck comes farther behind and on the sides than in auduboni. The wings are totally destitute of the white edges of quills and coverts as seen in auduboni, and the middle coverts are black instead of pure yellow. The tail, too, is entirely black.