Note 29 — Family ICTERIDÆ.—The Orioles.

It is an interesting fact in regard to the species of Icteridæ, that, as a general rule, female birds of West Indian representatives of the Agelainæ and Quiscalinæ are usually, or perhaps universally, uniformly black, where the continental are brown, either concolored or streaked. We know of no exception to the first part of this statement as to Agelaius, Nesopsar, Scolecophagus, and Quiscalus. The smaller North American species of Quiscalus have the females duller, but not otherwise very different from the males, except in size. The females of the large Quiscalus, all continental, are much smaller than the males, and totally different. In Icterus all the species in which the female is very different in color from the male are Northern Mexican or continental North American (pustulatus, spurius, baltimore, bullocki, cucullatus, etc.). Most West Indian Icterus also exhibit no difference in the sexes, dominicensis, hypomelas, xanthomus, bonanæ, etc.; in one alone (leucopteryx) is the difference appreciable. The South American species have the females pretty generally similar to the males, but smaller, as is the case in the entire family.