228 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 211 



Dawson (1923) gives the following formal description of the hooded 

 oriole's nest in California: "Nest: a closely woven basket, or hanging 

 pouch, of fine vegetable fiber, usually composed externally of a single, 

 uniform, selected material, and in California almost invariably the 

 shredded fibers of the Washington Palm, * * * with some inner felt- 

 ing of vegetable down or feathers; lashed to the under side of a palm 

 leaf or of other large protecting leaves." The nests that I found at 

 Azusa, Calif., were in avocado, eucalyptus, and dracaena (perhaps the 

 "yucca-like palm" mentioned by Mrs. Bailey). In the first two loca- 

 tions, the nests were placed in terminal clusters of leaves, so that they 

 were not at all conspicuous. All these nests were made of what ap- 

 peared to be palm fiber, although the nearest fiber-bearing palms were 

 perhaps half a mile distant. Other suitable fibers were scarce, and 

 one summer a specimen of "old man" cactus (Cephalocereus senilis) 

 was almost denuded of its white hairs by the orioles. In some in- 

 stances, at least, material is gathered by the female while the male 

 waits near by and flies with her to the nesting site. 



One noteworthy nesting site was beneath the second-story eaves of 

 my home, where the birds had in some manner wedged one or more 

 fibers into a crack, despite the lack of any perching place except the 

 lower surface of shingles and sheathing. The nest when completed 

 dangled from a single strand, swinging and twisting in the wind, but 

 miraculously remained in position until the young were successfully 

 fledged, shortly after which the empty nest dropped to the ground, 

 the removal of the tension due to the weight of the young having 

 evidently permitted the disengagement of the fiber. 



It is unfortunate that we have no information concerning the habits 

 and abundance of this oriole in southwestern California previous to 

 the widespread introduction of the fan palm, Washingtonia filifera, 

 which is native only to a few restricted localities on the borders of the 

 Colorado Desert. It would be interesting to know whether the species 

 has altered its nesting habits on the Pacific slope, or whether this 

 whole area has been populated by descendants of the birds which 

 shared the original habitat of the palm and which followed its widening 

 distribution. 



Eggs. — The eggs are indistinguishable in size and appearance from 

 those of other races of the species, as described under Sennett's hooded 

 oriole. 



Young. — The young are similar in every way to those of the other 

 races of this species. That they possess some aquatic ability was 

 noted by Frank F. Gander (1927), who reports: "On July 21, 1924, 

 I saw two fledgling Arizona Hooded Orioles leap from their nest in 



