A MIDSUMMER PRINCE. 935 
maged male also sits upon the eggs. Mother Necessity nes 
prompted the marvellous invention. 
Nuttall thought both sexes equally expert at nest-build- 
ing, although the labor principally devolved upon the fe- 
male. The latter clause in particular Mr. Gentry has con- 
firmed, and tells us that the male occupies himself only in 
collecting materials for his mate. They labor very steadily, 
but a week’s work is necessary for the completion of their 
home. It seems strange that domiciles constructed with so 
much pains should not be occupied successive seasons, but 
this seems never to be the case. It sometimes happens, 
however, that orioles will pick to pieces an old nest to get 
materials for a new one, just as the Indians of Peru often 
construct their huts of the cut-stone blocks of the ancient 
palaces of the Incas. These birds are very knowing in 
gathering stuff for the framework of their homes, and per- 
ceive the adaptability to their needs of the housewife’s yarn 
and laces, hung out to dry, much sooner than they perceive 
the immorality of stealing them. White cotton strings 
are rarely absent from their nests, which are sometimes al- 
most entirely composed of them. Some curious anecdotes 
have been related of this economical propensity and its re- 
sults; Nuttall tells the following: 
“A female (oriole), which I observed attentively, carried 
