NESTING HABITS OF OROPENDOLA — CHAPMAN 359 



the nest and that his ri^jhts appeared to be recognized by other males 

 none of which disputed his claims. The male at this time did not 

 rush after the female but went with her quietly, as though he were 

 her accepted male. My entry of Fcbi nary 20, lUiiT, in rei^'ard to the 

 owner of nest No, 5, group 1, who is later referred to in connection 

 with the loss of her nest, illustrates this habit; it reads: 



Male ac-compniues female with sreut rejrularity to ami from the nest waiting 

 immediately above while she is inside and leaving just after she does. She 

 always leads both going and coming. Their fli^'ht is normal, there is no rush 

 of pursuit, and no other male interferes. 



While waiting for the female to come out of the nest the male may 

 now be silent or he may call a rather automatic call without any of 

 the action and vocal ener^^y of tlie courtship period. On February 28 

 and March 1 a male with a black-tipped bill was recorded regularly 

 accompanying the female of nest Xo. 17, group 2, in the manner 

 above described. This nest was begun February 7 and it is probable 

 that the female was about to lay. 



Further evidence indicative of an understanding between the sexes 

 is supplied by observations in which the female not only acknowl- 

 edged the presence of the male, but apparently caressed him. Thus 

 on January 27, 192G, and February 10, 11, and 22, 1927, a female 

 l)erched by the side of a male, away from the nest but in the nest 

 tree, was seen to pick at or stroke the male's plumage. The record 

 of February 11 reads: "A female picks at the head of a male gently 

 (a caress?) several times. He apparently is conscious of the atten- 

 tion and welcomes it." Quoting again from the entry for February 

 11: "A female perched near the place where one was observed 

 yesterday rims her bill through the male's neck feathers, while he, 

 with bowed head and half-open bill, seems to enjoy the proceeding." 

 Again, on February 22: ''A female, in the body of the tree, caresses 

 a male. Two other males come, but the female pays no attention to 

 them and continues picking at the feathers of the first male. She 

 then flies off witli him leaving the other males." 



Since this attention on the part of tlie female was not restricted to 

 the immediate vicinity of the nest, where it could be readily observed, 

 it may have been indulged in far more frequently than my records 

 show. Together with the regular association of a male and a female 

 for a short time it leads to the conclusion that at least during the 

 period when the ova require fertilization a male and a female asso- 

 ciate as a pair. 



After incubation begins the male shows no further interest in the 

 female. In this connection my entry for February 22, 1027, reads: 

 " No. 5, group 1, is the onl}' bird of the seven in the group that 

 attracts a male, from which I conclude that the other six have laid-" 



