EXCITEMENT AMONG THE ORIOLES. 151 



nests of the tent-caterpillars and quietly taking 

 his breakfast therefrom. Later, when bantlings 

 are off his mind, he reappears in his favorite 

 haunts, and sings a little before bidding us 

 adieu for the season ; although occasionally this 

 supplementary song is a dismal failure, and the 

 oriole discovers, as have other singers before 

 him, that one cannot neglect his music, even for 

 the best of reasons, and take it up again where 

 he left off. 



As I passed under an apple-tree, one morn- 

 ing, on my way to the ferny path, I heard the 

 domestic cry of the oriole, uttered, I think, only 

 when rearing the young, a tender " yeap." I 

 paused instantly, and soon heard a very low 

 baby cry, a soft " chur-r-r " exactly like the first 

 note of the j^oung oriole when he comes up to 

 the edge of the nest, only subdued almost to a 

 whisper, showing that education had progressed, 

 and this little one had learned to control his 

 infantile eagerness. All at once there arose a 

 great commotion over my head ; an oriole fled 

 precipitately to another tree and stood there 

 watching me, scolding his harshest, flirting his 

 wings and jerking his body in great excitement. 

 In a moment his mate joined him, and both be- 

 gan to call, though she held a worm in her beak. 

 This not seeming to effect their purpose, the 

 singer suddenly uttered a loud, clear whistle of 



