UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES AFIELD 157 



premises at Limberlost Cabin, south. One was 

 the mating of a pair of Baltimore orioles. They 

 had selected a^nest location in a cottonwood across 

 the street, but they were bathing, feeding, and 

 gathering nest material on our premises. I was 

 standing in the conservatory talking with my 

 daughter and a New York friend who was visiting 

 me, when the female oriole flew to a beautiful 

 specimen of Killarney rose bush growing against 

 the west fence, which we had changed from the 

 original broad boards to a high wall, laid up with 

 large blocks of Wabash River limestone. Behind 

 the green foliage of the rose bearing blooms of 

 magnificent size, one being seven inches in diame- 

 ter, the cream stone of the wall made a perfect 

 background for the cutting of the rose leaves and 

 the luscious pink blooms, while in front of it spread 

 a fine sweep of turfy lawn grass. Like a meteor 

 of gold the female bird dropped from high flight 

 to the rose bush. Almost a-wing with her flashed 

 the orange and black of the male. He perched 

 beside her and they locked beaks in a long caress. 

 I had not known before that orioles locked bills 

 in their love making and I do not know now that 

 they do in every instance. Three of us distinctly 

 saw what occurred in the incident I am describing. 

 The female fluttered to the delicate green grass, her 

 wings half-lifted and outspread, her head turned 

 to one side, her beak lifted. The male followed 

 her in a frenzy of the mating fever, repeatedly 



