THE HANGING BIRD 237 



its real name. It was a Baltimore oriole, a bird that most 

 of my readers can find in their orchards if they but take 

 the trouble to look. There are several varieties of orioles, 

 most of them orange or yellow and black in color and 

 all about the same size. So far as I know all of them build 

 hanging nests. Some of the others are fully as brilliantly 

 colored as the Baltimore oriole. 



"We were especially delighted to have this nest by the 

 side of our orchard, because these birds feed on small 

 moths and butterflies or their caterpillars. The codling 

 moth, which lays the egg that makes the apple worm, is 

 especially liked by the orioles, and many farmers believe 

 that a pair or two of orioles nesting in the orchard will 

 save at least fifty bushels of apples from becoming wormy. 

 In those days we knew nothing about spraying to keep 

 away worms, so orioles were always welcome with us. In 

 Knowing Insects Through Stories,* you will find some of 

 the methods we used to get rid of the codling moth, but we 

 relied on the birds about as much as on anything to pre- 

 vent wormy apples. 



Those birds used to drink and bathe regularly in the 

 trough where we watered the horses, just outside the yard 

 tinder their maple tree. I liked to hide among the blue 

 damson plum trees and watch them take their daily bath. 

 First Mr. Oriole would alight on the side of the trough, 

 drink a few swallows, throw a few drops of water over his 

 back with his bill, edge about on the side of the trough 

 looking for a place that suited him better, stick his head 

 in the water and rub it over his shoulders, splatter a time or 

 two with his wings, and then, perhaps, hop on the fence 



* Published by Funk & WagnaUs Company, 1921. 



