ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, WITH EXAMPLES 



253 



despite the height of the nest, 

 which was about twenty-five 

 feet above the ground. To 

 carry out my project I used 

 a long pole, at the 

 end of which was 

 fastened a pocket 

 knife securely tied 

 with wire, leaving 

 the blade open at 

 an angle of thirty 

 degrees. With 

 this improvised 

 implement I man- 

 aged to cut off the 

 branch bearing 

 the nest. In the 

 photographic illus- 

 tration, I have 

 shown the nest 

 weather-beaten mummy of a 

 young oriole just as they ap- 

 peared. The latter was evi- 

 dently nearly full fledged at 

 the time of its death. There 

 was every evidence to show 

 that the bird had met death 

 by being caught by a thread 

 from its own cradle. The feet 

 of the little victim were tied 

 as tightly together as though 

 it had been done by human 

 hands. 



The body originally hung 

 head downwards and the ac- 

 cidental resemblance it bore 

 to a leaf at so great a height 

 was increased by the atti- 

 tude of the wings, which had 



The fate of a young Baltimore Oriole 

 hung by a thread of the nest. 



become mummified in an out- 



