ICTERID^ 



259 



The Baltimore Oriole is a distinct success as 

 a l)ird. To begin with, he is a superlatively 

 handsome fellow, and comports himself with the 

 ease and confidence of a prince. Again, though 

 he is not a great musician, like the Mockingbird 

 or the Hermit Thrush, there is real individuality, 

 as well as mere cheerfulness, in the quality of 

 his whistled greeting to those who have ears 

 wherewith to hear what is really worth listen- 

 ing to. And finally, his nest is essentially an ap- 

 propriate and logical doiuicile for a creature who 

 doesn't care a fig for the law of gravitation, and 

 never even heard of Sir Isaac Newton. 



.\11 birds should build their nests after the kind 



that while my lady toils, my lord does nothing 

 much but sit around and whistle and look 

 gorgeous. Doubtless if he had both, he would 

 have his hands in his pockets meanwhile. Fur- 

 thermore, my lady has shown herself a very 

 practical housewife by making use of materials 

 now at hand, instead of sticking to those which 

 her forbears used for ages. For, previous to 

 the appearance of mere man on the scene, the 

 Orioles had employed plant fibers, grass, and 

 other natural materials in their nest-building. 

 Iler ladyship still uses these materials, but she 

 reinforces the fabric with almost any kind of 

 string or twine available, not to mention strips 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher 



BALTIMORE ORIOLE (J nat. size) 

 A bird whose whistle is as gay as his plumage 



of the Baltimore's — and many do, notably the 

 Warblers and the Vireos. W'hy should a crea- 

 ture, who is in no more danger of falling than a 

 fish is of drowning, plaster a mass of mud, twigs, 

 and grass on a limb as thick as one's thigh, or in 

 a crotch which would support a five-ton steel 

 safe? Why not sling a stout but dainty ham- 

 mock from twigs which are plenty strong 

 enough, and swing in the breezes? 



It now becomes necessary to explain that it 



is my Lady Baltimore, and not his lordship, who 



is the designer and maker of this picturesque 



and appropriate habitation. Indeed, it appears 



Vol. II — 18 



of cloth and paper, thus revealing the very in- 

 teresting and significant fact that her adapta- 

 bility — which in this instance amounts almost 

 to the human quality called common sense — is 

 stronger than mere instinct, that most powerful 

 factor in shaping the conduct of all animals. 

 In this important respect, the Oriole clearly dis- 

 plays more intelligence than do such birds as the 

 Eave Swallow and the Phoebe, who continue to 

 use nest-building materials which make their 

 homes conspicuous in their new situations. 



On the subject of the materials used by 

 Orioles, Mrs. Mabel Osgood \N'right records the 



