52 



THE BULLOCK ORIOLE. 



ground nf vegetable felt. I can testify that under these circumstances the 

 eggs are sometimes indistinguishable at trrst glance from their siuTOundings. 

 The value nf the pouch-shaped nest is less clear than in the case of the 

 Baltimore ()riiile, whose home is the pendant branch of the elm tree; for the 

 nest of the Rullnck Oriole is often attached to stock\' ])ranclies, pines e\'en, 



Tnl.-ci: ill noiighs Cninity. XF.STING SITIC OI' THE F.L'LLOCK ORIOLE. 



Photo by tin- Author. 



which \ ield little in the wind. Nor is there an\ such olnious attempt in the 

 case of this bird to escape enemies by ]3lacing the eggs out of reach. The 

 Magpie would search Sheol for a maggot, and an\ effort toi Ijest him would 

 bankrupt the longest purse. 



Tired of the continemeiU ijf the nest, the ambitious fledgelings clanibei' 

 up the sides and perch u])on the brim. From this less secure position thev 

 are not infrequently dislodged before they are (piite ready to face the world. 

 Some years ago a friend of mine, Mr. Chas. W. Robinson, of Chelan, secured 

 a fledgeling Oriole which he rescued from the water of the lake where it had 

 evidently just fallen from an overhanging nest. When taken home it proved 

 a read\' pet. and was given the freedom of the ])lace. Some two weeks 

 later my friend rescued a nestling from another brood under precisely 

 similar circumstances, and put it in a cage with the older bird. The new- 



