SIRDS'-NESTS. 157 



such a thing of beauty was ever before woven 

 by the cunning of a bird. 



Nuttall, by far the most genial of Ameri- 

 can ornithologists, relates the following : 



" A female (oriole), which I observed at- 

 tentively, carried off to her nest a piece of 

 lamp-wick ten or twelve feet long. This 

 long string and many other shorter ones 

 were left hanging out for about a week 

 before both the ends were wattled into the 

 sides of the nest. Some other little birds 

 making use of similar materials, at times 

 twitched these flowing ends, and generally 

 brought out the busy Baltimore from her 

 occupation in great anger. 



" I may perhaps claim indulgence for 

 adding a little more of the biography of this 

 particular bird, as a representative, also, of 

 the instincts of her race. She completed 

 the nest in about a week's time, without any 

 aid from her mate, who, indeed, appeared 

 but seldom in her company, and was now 

 become nearly silent. For fibrous materials 

 she broke, hackled, and gathered the flax of 

 the asdepias and hibiscus stalks, tearing off 

 long strings and flying with them to the scene 

 of her labors. She appeared very eager and 

 hasty in her pursuits, and collected her ma- 



