294 THE UNIVERSE. 



The?e nests are sometimes more than two yards long. 

 They are fastened to the branches of trees, and from a dis- 

 tance look like strange fruits of enormous size. Thus when 

 the birds are numerous in a district, and they build a great 

 number of nests, these, suspended in the midst of the foli- 

 age of the trees, impart to the intertropical landscape an 

 aspect very peculiar, and indeed unique. 



The nests of the Baltimore Oriole are shorter, and formed 

 of delicately twisted down ; here we have an artisan that 

 works more elegantly than the other, and requires a 

 warmer and more luxurious bed. Its buildings have the 

 aspect of coarsely knitted sacks of wool attached to the 

 branches by a large surface, and having a wide and rounded 

 opening. 



