Birds’ Nests 
sapling, fourteen feet high, that swayed with 
the slightest breeze. The nest was constructed 
after the manner of our Baltimore oriole, pret- 
tily woven of the bleached sea-weed called eel- 
grass. So well constructed was this nest that, 
had it not been for the female sitting on it, I 
should have taken it for a nest of the oriole.’’ 
In other words, this so-called clumsy builder 
felt constrained, for some reason, to nest in a 
very perilous situation, where its usual style of 
structure would be entirely inadequate. It im- 
mediately rose to the occasion, utilized its la- 
tent talent, and vied with our most artistic spe- 
cies in the beauty and durability of its edifice. 
This certainly argues that the actual product 
of any species is no certain measure of its abil- 
ity, and makes the supposition reasonable that 
even water fowl, if compelled by circum- 
stances, would prove as skilful as any of the 
land species. 
