NEST BUILDERS. 8 1 



off, a happy and pretty company of masons. Some- 

 times in very wet weather their bottle-shaped homes 

 crumble and fall to pieces, though they, too, know 

 that eaves will serve them as an umbrella. 



We come now to the woven nests. Of these there 

 are so many and of such variety that whole books 

 could be written about them. Very few, however, are 

 more graceful and more cleverly built than our own 

 Oriole's; the nest is so common on our elms that we 

 do not realize how wonderful a work it is. 



Look at a piece of felt, such as is used in making 

 soft hats. You see it is made of small threads closely 

 woven together. An Oriole's nest is like a felt pouch. 

 First, the Oriole fastens strong string or thread, which 

 he has twitched off from fibrous bark, to the twigs to 

 which he has chosen to hang the pouch. These serve 

 as a framework for the nest and must be very strong. 

 How does he fasten them } Just as you would, except 

 that he ties his knots with his beak. He makes a 

 loop, sticks the end through, and pulls it tight. 



When the skeleton is finished, it shows the depth 

 and general shape of the nest. This is generally as 

 long as a man's hand. The bottom is rounded and 

 the neck narrowed a little. Nov/ comes the weaving. 

 Short threads snatched from ropes, clotheslines, bits 

 of tow or milkweed stalks are woven in and out 

 through the first long threads, till the nest is so thick 



