Notes from Field and Study 



175 



tragic manner, ami llial lier de\otion ami 

 loyalty chained the bereaved mate to the 

 spot where their summer joys had been 

 shared together. My mind was filled with 

 the pathos of the tragic event in the lives 

 of the beautiful birds, and m\- heart over- 

 flowed with sympathy for the lone, faith- 

 ful watcher beside the empty nest. 



The nest was hung to the highest branch 

 of the tree, and I was unable to secure it the 

 following day when I procured the old nest 

 occupied by the Sparrows; but, on the 20th, 

 a couple of adventurous tree trimmers 

 captured the trophy and placed it in my 

 hands, and what was my chagrin and dis- 

 gust to discover that the dead bird hang- 

 ing by the neck was a male English Spar- 

 row. He had become "a hanging bird" 

 but not an Oriole. The feeling of pity and 

 sympathy which had filled my heart, 

 underwent a sudden revulsion, and one of 

 satisfaction that the highway marauder, 

 in attempting to destroy the happiness of 

 a home, had met with a just retribution, 

 took its place. 



But what puzzles me and those familiar 

 with the migratory habits of the Bullock 

 Oriole is, why the female should remain 

 near her nest so late in the season. A cold 

 wave accompanied by a considerable 

 fall of snow occurred on the night of the 

 20th, and she was not seen after that date. 



The accompanying photograph of the 

 nest and dangling body of the self-e.xecuted 

 robber tells the tragic story better than 

 words. — W. W. Arnold, Colorado Springs 

 Colo. 



A Young Oriole's Experience 



On June 6, 1909, as I was on the piazza, 

 there happened to be a very young Oriole, 

 just out of the nest, on the ground, not far 

 away. Apparently this was his first expe- 

 dition. He did not seem able to fly — but 

 was hopping about trying to use his tiny 

 wings. It was very fascinating to watch 

 him, so I sat down, determined to see what 

 happened. In a few moments the father 

 bird came, and fed the little one. It was 

 a difiicult task. The Mockingbirds had 

 a nest in a tree close bv, and, everv time 



the parent Orioles came to feed the voung 

 bird, the Alockingbirds chased them awav. 

 It was a period of twenty minutes from the 

 time the parent Oriole last fed the voung 

 one till he came again. This time he ap- 

 peared to be in great agitation, and very 

 nervous. He did not feed the tiny bird, 

 but cooed to him in a very excited manner. 

 Suddenly he turned his tail toward the 

 little bird, when to my great astonishment, 

 the little one hopped on. The parent then 

 proceeded to drag the baby bird along for 

 a foot or more when off it slipped. The 

 parent still intent on getting the little bird 

 away from the domain of the belligerent 

 Mockingbirds, once more cooed, and 

 coaxed, then turned his tail for the baby 

 bird to hop on, which he did. 



Just as the father again started to drag 

 the little one along, down swooped the 

 Mockingbird, frightening away the parent 

 Oriole and tumbling the babv on the 

 ground. I am told by those who have 

 made a study of birds for years that this 

 is an exceedingly remarkable and unheard 

 of thing for any bird to do. 



The Mockingbird then began to peck 

 the young bird. I lost no time in chasing 

 away the Mockingbird. I am also told 

 that even birds that will attack a strange 

 adult bird which ventures near their nest 

 seldom molest a young bird, .\fter the 

 baby Oriole recovered from his fright, he 

 made great haste for alow acacia tree near- 

 by. In sheer desperation, he finally suc- 

 ceeded in climbing a slanting bough, or 

 rather trunk of the tree, and in gaining a 

 secluded branch. But he could not escape 

 the vigilant Mockingbird. He had scarcely 

 secured a sure footing when the Mocking- 

 bird made another attack on him. Once 

 more I rushed to the rescue. By this time 

 it seemed as if the Mockingbird was de- 

 termined to clear the premises of all Orioles, 

 regardless of age, and I concluded to guard 

 the little bird myself. My guard continued 

 for half an hour or more, during which time 

 the parent Orioles succeeded in coaxing 

 the tiny bird to a sycamore tree some fifty 

 feet away. The Mockingbird did not attack 

 the Orioles again, and I left them to their 

 fate. — Mell Rice. Los Angeles, Cal. 



