RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



the thi-ead tears out, greatly to the annoy- 

 ance of the taxidermist. You may, per- 

 haps, imagine that the skin you are making 

 will never be mounted, but give it — and 

 the taxidermist — the benefit of the doubt. 

 Your skin will look just as neat and will be 

 more satisfactory to mount with a long cut 

 than with a short one " 



We cannot entirely agree with Mr. Lucas, 

 at least we should not lengthen the cut until 

 after the skinning was done, for at the top 

 of the sternum the skin is tender and very 

 apt to tear crosswise. Again, a skin with 

 a long cut must of a necessity' be sewed in 

 order to fill it out so it will look well, and 

 we venture to saN' that ver}- few will make 

 the long cut and do the sewing, when it is 

 easier to skin a bird through a short one 

 and do none. 



Feathered Engineers. 



What a Couple of Baltimore Orioles did by Setting 

 Their Wits to Work. 



On the west^ern side of Central Park, very 

 near 103d Street and Eighth Avenue, stands 

 a row of elm trees, difficult to approach on 

 account of a heavy growth of syringa 

 bushes around them. On a branch of one 

 of the trees, about sixteen feet from the 

 ground, a pair of Baltimore orioles set to 

 building a nest a few weeks ago. The}- 

 chose the extreme end of the bough, with 

 evident intention of making it a hazardous 

 experiment for any bird-nester to attempt 

 to molest them. But in their excess of 

 caution they appeared not to observe what 

 the few persons whose eyes were keen 

 enough to see the first labors of the little 

 architects saw — that the branch was much 

 too slender to support so large a nest as an 

 oriole builds. 



When the nest was about two-thirds 

 finished the birds saw their mistake. The 

 branch had bent so low that it was getting 

 perilously near the grass. Work was at 

 once stopped, and the builders sat close to- 

 gether for a long time, and seemed to be 

 discussing the situation. Finallj^ they flew 

 side b}' side to a bough about fifteen inches 

 over the one on which their nest was, and, 

 leaning over, inspected the distance. They 

 seemed to be satisfied, and, though it was 

 growing rapidly dusk, the birds flew away 

 in opi^osite directions. In the morning it 

 was found that they had firml}^ secured their 



habitation and prevented the branch from 

 bending lower, b}- passing a piece of white 

 string, which they had found somewhere in 

 the Park, over the upper bough, and 

 fastening both ends of it secureh' to the 

 edges of the nest. The building then went 

 rapidly on, and the orioles are now engaged 

 in hatching their eggs. Very few persons 

 have seen the nest, and there is a fair pros- 

 pect that their skill and ingenuity will be 

 soon rewarded bj- a brood of 3'oung orioles. 

 The Baltimore oriole is a very intelligent 

 bird, but a New York ornithologist, who 

 saw the nest, said that he had nevei- be- 

 fore seen an achievement quite equal t(j this 

 one. He says the art of knitting fibres or 

 strings together is well known to n)any 

 birds. The weaver bird of India builds its 

 nest out of a large, strong leaf, which it 

 stitches together at the edges, making a 

 compact and closely adhering funnel. — Neic 

 York Sicn. 



j St. Johnsbury, Vt,, July 12, 1884. 

 (Editor of Random Notes : 



To-day I received a specimen which I 



think is worthy of notice in Random Notes. 

 I^ A Black Vulture, killed near Montpelier, 



this state. An adult bird in good feather, 



twent3-three inches in length, wing sixteen 

 I and a half inches, and smells like a water 



lily. 



As far as I can learn, nothing of the kind 



was ever seen in the state before. Is it 

 ' rare north or not? 

 I The man who sent it forwarded a brief 



note as follows: "• Shot this in Woodburv, 



Vt., yesterday. What is it?" 



Can you tell me what the so-called " Black 

 \ Eagle " really is? Is it a young Bald, or a 

 i distinct variety ? I can't satisfy myself re 



garding them. Cordially yours, 



! Graham 



I According to authority older than you or 

 ourselves, we must pass on every eagfe not 

 a Golden, that inhabits this section of the 

 country, the name of Bald. — Ed. 



There seems to be much confusion re- 

 garding the Loggerhead and White-rumped 

 Shrikes. The former is the bird of the 

 South Atlantic and Gulf States. The lat- 

 ter variety is found in New England, the 

 Middle and Western States to the Pacific 

 Ocean. 



