tHfe OOL06l6r 



169 



ORIOLE INSTINCT 



Not only the wonderful weavin 

 together of grass blades, plant stalk 'i\ 

 shredded, and bits of string thaJl! 

 goes into the making of the Baltimore 

 Oriole's nest, but the instinct shown 

 in the selection of some particular 

 tree, one special limb and a branch 

 r darted to holding the nest is mar- 

 velouG to me. 



Thi ■ specimen nest was rut from an 

 n-ple tree In October, the supple end 

 iT'^nrhe^- were curved towards each 

 other so taut was the weaving, al- 

 fnvh there were loose ends flying 

 about. The cross branch, over which 

 "^overal strands were looped was cut 

 in taking the nest, so there were 

 o:'gi:ir.lly four twigs as main sup- 

 rorts. as well as the prongs. How 

 cr.me the Oriole to know that these 

 twigs huu:i in the right position, to 

 bend, converging to exactly the right 

 d' stance, for a nest thirteen inches 

 around and seven inches deep? 



Truly the Unknown in the realm of 

 nature extends to us wonders that 

 make Arabian Night's Tales and 

 other fairy lore of childhood very 

 t^me and commonplace. 



I have noticed many Oriole's ne. ts 

 hanging from some outer tip of an 

 elm branch, high in the air, but this 

 is the only nest 1 ever found in an 

 anple tree, and the only one built low 

 enough to cut off. And the only time 

 I ever saw a Wren enter one, was at 

 this time, when one carried a hand- 

 ful of twigs and placed them end- 

 wise inside, like so many knitting 

 needles inserted into a bag. What 

 the purpose of this was in bird wis- 

 dom I am still guessing. 



Leda W. Chace. 

 Lawrenceville, Pa. 



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