250 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 211 



being attached to the creeper as well. After three eggs were laid the 

 limb fell to the ground, but the bird, not to be outdone, built another 

 nest in the dangling remains of the creeper, from which she fledged 

 her young." 



Usually the Baltimore oriole hangs its nest high over our heads; 

 Eaton (1914) estimates the average height as 25 to 30 feet and he has 

 seen a nest 60 feet above the ground. On the other hand, A. D. Du- 

 Bois (MS.) reports "the lowest nest that has ever come to my atten- 

 tion was in a burr oak 7 feet 8 inches from the gound." Thomas D. 

 Burleigh (1931) cites a still lower nest in Pennsylvania, "but six feet 

 from the ground at the extreme end of a limb of an apple tree in an 

 orchard." 



The nest is a deep pocket hanging generally from the rim ; the open- 

 is usually at the top, rarely at the side. Bendire (1895) gives the 

 dimensions of a nest from Ontario as follows: "It is externally 5 inches 

 deep, and the entrance, which is oval in shape, measures 3% by 2 

 inches in diameter. The cup is 4% inches deep by 2}{ inches wide." 

 Henry Mousley (1916) says of nests in Quebec: "The nests vary 

 somewhat in depth, which in some cases may be as much as six inches, 

 whilst one built in a maple opposite my house only measures three and 

 one-half inches." M. G. Vaiden (MS.) records a nest over 8 inches 

 deep. 



The framework of the nest is made of long, pliable strips of dry 

 plant fibers, grapevine bark, Indian hemp, silk of milkweed, and such 

 materials as are capable of being closely woven into a fabric. Near 

 dwellings and on farms where string, horsehair, and bits of cloth are 

 available, these are used commonly. The nests over the streets of 

 our country towns contain many white strings, which soon bleach 

 to a soft gray color when exposed to the weather. At the bottom, 

 the nest may have a lining of hair, wool, or fine grasses. Forbush 

 (1927) speaks of an aberrant nest "chiefly composed outwardly of 

 jet black hair from the manes and tails of horses. This nest, placed 

 low down in a pear tree, was very conspicuous among the green leaves." 



John B. Semple (1932) explains that the oriole has adapted itself 

 to the scarcity, almost the complete absence in recent years, of horse- 

 hair. He says: 



Thirty years ago the nests of the Baltimore Oriole, and those of the Chipping 

 Sparrow as well, contained in their makeup a large percentage of long hairs from 

 the manes and tails of horses. This material was then easily obtained along the 

 roads and in the pastures. Even ten years ago an oriole's nest found on a farm in 

 Monroe County, Pennsylvania, where horses were used, contained a good pro- 

 portion of horsehair. But now, since automobiles and tractors have brought 

 about a disappearance of horses which is almost complete, it has become a matter 

 of curiosity to find out what the orioles would do. A nest taken this autumn from 

 the same tree on a farm in Monroe County, in which the nest of 10 years ago had 



