Massachusetts Audubon Society 7 



flew to the ground for some crochet cotton which we had thrown down 

 for her at our feet. She seemed pleased at finding nesting material so 

 convenient and was making ready to live happily among the human, as 

 well as the bird, families; but alas: the night the nest appeared to me 

 to be ready for the tiny white eggs there came a heavy shower. The next 

 morning I found only a few pieces of string where the attractive home 

 was to have been. While I stood gazing at the wreck, the tiny builder 

 flew into the tree, gathered up the odds and ends remaining, and flew off 

 to the next yard, and I found there much to my surprise, her second nest 

 almost completed. 



The tree in which the oriole was building was near enough to the 

 hammock for us to watch the process without using our glasses. Very 

 quickly tlie guy-strings of the nest were made fast to the slender twigs at 

 the extreme end of the elm branch. Then the round bottom took shape 

 at once. The female did all the work, always from the inside, pushing 

 out the long piece of grapevine or rootlet and then bringing it back, in doing 

 so really making a knot. The male was usually in a tree near at hand 

 and often sang while the female worked, but he did none of the work. 

 He always flew off with her when she went for more material. 



The greater part of the building was done in the early morning, 

 when the moss, rootlets, etc., were damp from dew and so were more pliable. 

 When the nest was well formed and seemed to me almost ready for 

 occupancy, I said we ought to give Mrs. Oriole something with which to 

 decorate her most beautifully made home. So I took some narrow red 

 ribbon, tied it with a piece of white string, and laid it on one of the bushes; 

 and, much to our delight, she wove it so it hung from the bottom of the 

 nest, where it was always waving in the breeze and showed at once where 

 the nest was placed. The leaves had grown so during the building a casual 

 observer would not see it at all. 



Mrs. Oriole had done so well with our first contribution we decided 

 to give her another donation party. We wanted to make her a patriotic 

 bird, but we could find nothing blue in the house which could be used, 

 and there were no stores in the village. At last I found a small blue 

 ribbon badge on which was printed "President." I had worn this in 

 Columbus, Ohio, when I heard President Harding make his last speech 

 before he was made President on the following day. To a bird only 

 would I have given this badge. I tied to it a piece of red and white 

 string. You can imagine my gi'eat delight when, upon the second morning, 

 I saw floating from the top of the nest the blue badge, and the word 

 "President" could be seen very plainly. Mrs. Oriole had evidently decided 

 to use it for name plate. Of course, it at once changed her name. If we 

 had placed the decoration ourselves we could not have done better. The 

 work upon the home now seemed to us to be finished, and then we saw 

 the male come and inspect the same, both inside and out, and then give 

 his very best and completest song we were sure of it. 



I had to leave before the eggs were laid, but four orioles were raised. 

 In the fall the tree had to be trimmed. The nest, still in excellent con- 

 dition, was taken down, and now hangs in my room, and brings to my 

 mind a most beautiful moving picture whenever I look at it. 



KATE DENIG TOWER. 



