BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 



and limb to limb, in active pursuit of the 

 small beetles and different winged insects 

 which then form his principal nourishment. 

 All the while he converses with his mate, 

 or utters loud and harmonious notes of 

 gratulation, as he secures his agile and 

 alert prey. 



The song of the Golden Robin, as he is 

 sometimes called, is loud, varied and in- 

 teresting, and strikes the ear of the listener 

 more like the shrill tone of the fife, min- 

 gled with the mellow breathings of the 

 flute, than the notes of a woodland 

 songster. It is likewise modulated in an 

 exquisite manner, and frequently consists 

 of an imitation of the 'sweetest and most 

 powerful notes of other birds, which the 

 Oriole follows with all the correctness of 

 an echo, astonishing his hearers with his 

 exactness and similarity. Indeed, so sin- 

 gular is this habit with the Hanging-bird, 

 that I much doubt whether he has any 

 original song of his own, and whether the 

 various melodies with which he delights 

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