BULLOCK S ORIOLE. 



680 



warmer parts of America. It appears in Lower California in 

 March, but does not complete its migration into the United States 

 until some time in the following month, when the forests it loves 

 to dwell in are clothed with verdure. In the pine clad mountains 

 of Arizona and New Mexico, we never saw it until abmit the mid- 

 dle of April ; then, and until the cool weather of Sci)teml)er. we 

 were almost daily gratified with the sight of the gaily-hued birds 

 gleaming through the sombre foliage like tiny meteors, and with 

 the sound of their musical voices awakening echoes along the 

 deepening aisles of the woodland. 



In the countries just mentioned, the belts of thick cotton-wood 

 and willows that generally fringe the streams are favorite resorts, 

 l)erhaps because the pliant twigs are best suited to their wants in 

 constructing their nest. All the orioles are wonderful architects, 

 weaving pensile nests of soft pliable fibrous substances with a 

 nicety and beauty of finish that human art would vainly attempt to 

 rival. These elegant fabrics are hung at the end of slender twigs, 

 out of reach of ordinary enemies ; and though they may swing 

 with every breath of wind, this is but cradle-rocking for the cal- 

 low young, and it is a rude blast indeed that endangers the safety 

 of their leafj' home. 



Little time passes after their arrival before the modestly-attired 

 females, rambling silently through the A^erdure, are singled out 

 and attended each b}' her impetuous consort, who sings his choic- 

 est songs, and displays the prowess she admires most. His song 

 is an elegant paraphrase of the Baltimore's, with all its richness 

 and variety, though an ear well skilled in distinguishing birds' notes 

 can readily detect a difference. Their courtship happily settled, 

 the pair mtxj be seen fluttering through the thicket they have cho- 

 sen, in eager search for a building-place ; and when a suitable one 

 is found, no time is lost in beginning to weave their future home. 

 It is a great mistake to suppose that birds of the same species al- 

 ways build in the same way. Though their nests have a general 

 resemblance in st^de of architecture, the}^ differ greiitly according 

 to their situation, to the time the birds have before the nest must 

 be used for the reception of the eggs, and often, we are tempted 

 to think, according to the taste and skill of the builders. In their 

 work of this sort, birds show a remarkable power of selection, as 

 well as of adapting themselves to circumstances ; in proof of which 

 we have only to examine the three beautiful specimens now lying 



