ORNITHOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES 245 



a simple one. The nest was a fairlj^ deep cup, held in place 

 by the rim and sides being woven into several separate leaf- 

 lets. The leaves were split with the bill, and the shreds of 

 fibre then woven in and out until the leaf was safely bound 

 to the side of the nest. In the case of two of the nests the 

 sewing was very finely done, not unlike the work of the tailor 

 bird of India. The divided row of leaflets formed a per- 

 fectly water-proof cover. The entrance to the nest was in- 

 variably at the end toward the trunk of the palm. Here a 

 pair of leaflets was held slightly apart by a thick mass of 

 woven fibres, a thick frame, which also acted as a sort of 

 perch or landing stage for the old birds in entering or leaving 

 the nest. The nests were of coarse materials outside, but 

 lined with very fine, soft shreds. 



The nest with the two eggs when completed, measured, 

 outside, 12 cm. in length, 8.2 cm. in diameter and 6.5 in 

 depth. Inside it was 8.5 cm. in length, 5.7 cm. in diameter 

 and 5 cm. in depth. 



The egg was rather sharply pointed and measured 25 

 X 18 mm. Its ground color was creamy white, marked with 

 spots and small blotches of various shades of dark brown, 

 umber and sepia. These were very sparse about the small 

 end and the center, but abundant at the large end, the blotch- 

 es forming a rough wreath about it. At this end, too, there 

 was a hint, in the faintest markings, of the scrawl-like figures 

 so characteristic of the eggs of many orioles. 



On ^March 23, the birds began building still another 

 nest, and laid in it before it was quite completed. On April 

 28, a young moriche hatched, and for the next two weeks 

 both parents kept busy feeding the young bird with insects. 

 Most of these they secured at the blossoming cashew tree. 

 While the birds were incubating they were rather silent, 

 singing but seldom, and quite wary, slipping away quietly 

 whenever we appeared. During the weeks of feeding, how- 

 ever, the constant labor was lightened with frequent singing, 



