Oriole WESTERN BIRDS 



which hang and float in the breeze, proclaiming to every 

 passer-by its whereabouts. Sometimes these decorations 

 are two feet long. Nothing but these palm fibers are 

 used in these nests. I have known the birds to use them 

 for the second brood, but usually a new one is con- 

 structed. 



I believe it is the habit of these birds to lay the eggs 

 successive days and brood only when the clutch is 

 complete. The female does all the brooding, the male 

 staying about and singing his low, warbling song, driv- 

 ing intruders away, scolding and chattering. 



In a nest which I watched one April which was hung 

 about twenty feet from the ground, the female left the 

 nest six times in an hour and twenty-seven minutes; 

 staying away fourteen minutes the longest time, and 

 three the shortest. The longest interval of brooding was 

 eighteen minutes; the shortest two. 



On May 4th there were newly-hatched young in the 

 nest and the birds fed eight times in one hour; the male 

 five and the female three. It is of interest to the bird 

 student to know that at this time the adults were not 

 feeding by regurgitation, but were carrying visible food 

 to the young. 



When the nestlings were eight days old wobbly heads 

 showed above the rim and they were noisy, calling in 

 squeaky voices for food. 



On May 19th, when the young were fourteen days old, 

 they flew from the nest into nearby trees and for days 

 were about with the male. This female raised another 

 brood in the same nest and they were able to fly on 

 July 13th. 



The song of this Oriole is usually very low, being a 

 veritable whisper song, which is broken into by a husky 

 chatter, and is not particularly pleasing save for the 

 enthusiasm the singer puts into it. One summer I was 

 surprised to hear a dull-plumaged male singing a loud, 



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