NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH 
foothold for despoilers of the pretty nest. 
Swung from the slender swaying twigs of 
an elm, it would be practically inaccessible to 
all foes. But elms are few in that locality, 
and the orioles decided that if the nest were 
made extra deep and very small at the top, 
it would be comparatively safe even in an 
oak. Next in order was to win his sweet- 
heart to his way of thinking. It was his 
first courting, I am sure, for never did such 
ardor pour from a bird’s throat. 
The course of true love never does run 
smooth, however, and his wooing was no 
exception. In spite of fine feathers and 
fine song, the lady of his choice was hard 
to please, and for more than two weeks he 
was untiring in his attentions before she 
finally consented to commence housekeeping. 
After many visits and much talking it over, 
he appeared one day with a long strip of 
honeysuckle bark, and in some way coaxed 
it to stay wound around the twig, one end 
hanging down straight. After that he came 
constantly with silvery bits of plant fibre, 
100 
