516 



LAND BIRDS 



earnestness, evidently not daring to attempt the danger- 

 ous task of brooding, lest his bungling should be dis- 

 astrous. As soon as the naked pink 

 nestlings have emerged from the 

 shells and opened their wide bills 

 for food, his cares begin. And they 

 know no end until four 

 weeks later, when all have 

 learned to care for them- 

 selves. Oriole nestlings in 

 general are proverbial cry- 

 babies, and Scott Orioles are 

 no exception. Insects of 

 all sorts in all stages of 

 development, fruit, and ber- 

 ries are served to them in 

 such quick succession as to leave 

 small time for the parent to hunt 

 any for himself. At first the feed- 

 ing is by regurgitation, but on the 

 fourth or fifth day this method gives 

 place to the more commonly ob- 

 served one. After this brood is reared, with com- 

 mendable patience, he is ready to care for another, for 

 which a new nest in a new tree must be made.. 



504. Scott Oriole. 



^' He will peer into it with 

 ludicrous earnestness.'''' 



