Song Birds and Water Fowl 
blend with its surroundings; a precaution 
which, quite unconsciously to the builder, pro- 
duces one of the most pleasing effects of rustic 
art. As an instance where still greater difficul- 
ty in meeting the requirements of the case is 
matched by increased skill, we may cite the 
nest of the Baltimore oriole. Whatever motive 
may have induced this bird to adopt its elegant, 
pensile form of a nest, its situation at the tip- 
end of a slender, swaying branch, is manifestly 
conducive to the utmost security from all sorts 
of foes ; and this was not improbably the main 
consideration in deciding its location. Yet, on 
the other hand, when so placed, the nest is 
peculiarly unstable in its exposure to wind and 
rain, and demands much greater skill in its 
weaving and attachment to the branch; which 
makes this nest one of the most remarkable and 
beautiful structures of its kind. 
While safety and durability thus apparently 
determine the general character and _ situa- 
tion of the land birds’ nests, it also evidently 
suits their convenience to place them about in 
the plane of their average flight. The ground 
seems as inappropriate a place for a hawk’s or 
crow’s nest as the summit of a tall tree for the 
abode of a low-flying sparrow or a ground war- 
146 
