“At Charco Escondido, farther in the interior of Tamaulipas, this bird was well known to the _rancheros_, who were disposed to give it a bad reputation, stating that it often came to the rancho to steal the freshly-slaughtered beef, hung up to dry in the sun. Whether this was true or not, I had no opportunity of ascertaining; but my acquaintance with the Black-headed Oriole, at this place, I have a particular reason for remembering. Early one morning, an old man, who had daily called on me, with his wife and six nude pickaninnies, presented himself, and wished as usual to take me to a spot where great numbers of rare birds were to be found. Gladly assenting, we were out of sight of the rancho at sunrise of one of the magnificent mornings only known in tropical latitudes. It was the day after a severe _norther_, and the whole feathered kingdom was in motion. My guide soon called my attention to two _calandrias_, as these birds are called by the Mexicans, which were quietly but actively seeking their breakfast. The male having been brought down by my gun, the female flew to a neighboring tree, apparently not having observed his fall; soon, however, she became aware of her loss, and endeavored to recall him to her side with a simple _pout pou-it_, uttered in a strain of such exquisite sadness, that I could scarcely believe such notes to be produced by a bird, and so greatly did they excite my sympathy, that I felt almost resolved to desist from making further collections in natural history, which was one of the principal objects of my journey into the country. “Another species that takes the place of this bird, west of Monterey, has a more powerful, varied, and artistic song, but I have never heard the lay of any songster of the feathered tribe expressed more sweetly than that of the present Oriole. At Monterey, it is a favorite cage-bird. The notes of the male are more powerful than those of the female. “My stay in Mexico was not sufficiently protracted to enable me to study the habits of this interesting bird as fully as I could have wished. Generally, its flight is low and rapid, and it seemed to prefer the shade of trees. It was observed almost invariably in pairs, and the male and female showed for each other much tenderness and solicitude. If one strayed from the other, a soft _pou-it_, soon brought them again together.”