BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 8/ 



cries of the Woodpecker, the bleating of the sheep ; an inter- 

 val of his own melody, then probably a puppy dog or a Guinea- 

 fowl receives his usual attention : and the whole of this mim- 

 icry is accompanied by antic gestures indicative of the sport 

 and company which these vagaries afford him. Hence we see 

 that the mimicking talent of the Stare is inherent in this 

 branch of the gregarious family, and our own Baltimore, in a 

 humbler style, is no less delighted with the notes of his feathered 

 neighbors. 



There is nothing more remarkable in the whole instinct of 

 our Golden Robin than the ingenuity displayed in the fabrica- 

 tion of its nest, which is, in fact, a pendulous cylindric pouch 

 of five to seven inches in depth, usually suspended from near 

 the extremities of the high, drooping branches of trees (such 

 as the elm, the pear or apple tree, wild-cherry, weeping-willow, 

 tuHp-tree, or buttonwood). It is begun by firmly fastening 

 natural strings of the flax of the silk-weed, or swamp-holyhock, 

 or stout artificial threads, round two or more forked twigs, 

 corresponding to the intended width and depth of the nest. 

 With the same materials, willow down, or any accidental ravel- 

 lings, strings, thread, sewing- silk, tow, or wool, that may be 

 lying near the neighboring houses, or round the grafts of trees, 

 it interweaves and fabricates a sort of coarse cloth into the 

 form intended, towards the bottom of which is placed the 

 real nest, made chiefly of lint, wiry grass, horse and cow hair, 

 sometimes, in defect of hair, lining the interior with a mixture 

 of slender strips of smooth vine-bark, and rarely with a few 

 feathers, the whole being of a considerable thickness, and 

 more or less attached to the external pouch. Over the top, 

 the leaves, as they grow out, form a verdant and agreeable 

 canopy, defending the young from the sun and rain. There is 

 sometimes a considerable difference in the manufacture of 

 these nests, as well as in the materials which enter into their 

 composition. Both sexes seem to be equally adepts at this 

 sort of labor, and I have seen the female alone perform the 

 whole without any assistance, and the male also complete this 

 laborious task nearly without the aid of his consort, — who, how- 



