Teacher's Leaflet. 1193 



Supplementary reading. — " The Saucy Oriole " from " True Bird 

 Stories " by Olive Thorne Miller, Houghton, Mifflin «& Co.; " The Oriole 

 Branch of the Blackbird Family " from " Second Book of Birds;" 

 " The Baltimore Oriole " in " Our Birds and their Nestlings," Amer- 

 ican Book* Co. 



Facts for Teachers. — Dangling to the slender drooping branches of the elms, 

 these pocket nests in winter look like some strange, persistent fruit; and indeed 

 they are the fruit of much labor on the part of the oriole weavers, those skilled 

 artisans of the bird world. Sometimes the oriole " For the summer v'yage his 

 hammock swings " in a sapling, placing it near the main stem and near the top, 

 otherwise it is almost invariably hung at the end of the branches, usually of elm, 

 and is rarely less than twenty feet from the ground. The nest is pocket-shaped 

 and usually about seven inches long and four and a half inches wide at the largest 

 part, which is the bottom. The top is attached to forked twigs at the Y so that 

 the mouth or door will be kept open to allow the bird to pass in and out. But 

 when within, the weight of the bird causes the opening to contract somewhat 

 and protects the inmate from prying eyes. Often the pocket hangs free so that 

 the breezes may rock it, but in one case I found a nest with the bottom stayed 

 to a twig by guy lines. The bottom is much more closely woven than the upper 

 part for a very good reason, since the open meshes above admit air to the sitting 

 bird. The nest is lined with hair or other soft material, and although this is added 

 last the inside of the nest is woven first. The orioles like to build the framework 

 of twine, and it is marvellous how they will loop this around a twig almost as 

 evenly knotted as if crocheted; in and out of this net the mother bird with her 

 long sharp beak weaves bits of wood fibre, strong fine grass, and scraps of weeds. 

 The favorite lining is horse hair, which simply cushions the bottom of the pocket. 

 Dr. Detwiller had a pet oriole which built her nest of his hair which she pulled 

 from his head; is it possible that orioles get their supply of horse hair in a similar 

 way? If we put in convenient places bright colored twine or narrow ribbons 

 the orioles will weave them into the nest; but the strings should not be long lest 

 the birds become entangled. If the nest is strong the birds will use it a second year. 



That Lord Baltimore found in new America a bird wearing his colors must 

 have cheered him greatly; and it is well for us that this brilliant bird brings to our 

 minds kindly thoughts of that tolerant, high-minded English nobleman. The 

 oriole's head, neck, throat and upper part of the badk are black; the wings are 

 black but the feathers are margined with white; the tail is black except that 

 the ends of the outer feathers are yellow- otherwise the bird is golden orange, a 

 luminous color which makes the oriole seem a splash of brilliant sunshine. The 

 female, although marked much the same, has the back so dull and mottled that 

 it looks olive brown; the rump, breast, and under parts are yellow but by no 

 means showy. The advantage of these quiet colors to the mother bird is obvious, 

 since it is she that makes the nest and sits in it without attracting attention to 

 its location. In fact, when she is sitting her brilliant mate places himself far 

 enough away to distract attention of meddlers, yet near enough for her to see 

 the fiash of his breast in the sunshine and to hear his rich and cheering song. 

 He is a good spouse and brings her the materials for the nest which she weaves 

 in, hanging head downward from a twig and using her long sharp beak for a shuttle. 



