11)2 NOirril AMKIJKWN niRDR. 



lint onlv vorv almndiiiit, luit vcrv iiiMicniUv «lifrns('(l. Haidlv :iii nrchnnl 

 or ;i Liardi'ii «•! any si/c can lu' loinitl without thciii. Tlicv sfcm to urorcr 

 a}>i'l('-nvi's lor tlu'ir alxxlc, and lor the (•onstriictioii (tf tlicir nests. 'I'licso 

 stnicturcs, tlioiiLili essentially (litlereiit, are, in their style of architceture, 

 onite as curiously \vrnuL;lit and ingenious as those of the I'altiniore. Th(y 

 are sus]>ended IVoni small twi^s, often at the very extroniity ot" the hranches. 

 In Pennsylvania thev are usuallv lornuMl exteiiiallv of a lueuliar kind of Ioul;' 

 touLih, and llexilile L^rass. This material is \vo\i'u tlirouLih and throu_L;h m a 

 vt'ry wonderiul mannei'. and with as much neatness and intricacy as if actu- 

 ally sewed Mitli a needle. They are hiunispherical in shape, open at the to|>. 

 and Lienerallv about four inches in l»re:'dtli and three deep. The cavitv has 

 a dejilh and a width of ah(uit two inch. 



Wilxm states that, haxiiiu' had the curiosity to detach one of these tihres 

 of dried urass from the Uest, la* found it thirteen inc-hes in lenuth, and that, 

 ill that distance, it had h-en hooked ihiouuh ami returneil no less than thirty- 

 four limes ! In this manner it was passed entirely aroun<l the nest. The 

 nests are oecasionallv lined with wool oi the down of seeds. The external 

 ]»ortions are stioimlv fastened to .several twi«>s, so that thev niavlje hlown 

 alxait hy the wind without heiiiif in>set. 



Wilson also remarks that he ohserved that when these nests are l)uilt in 

 tlie long ju'iident hranches of tlie weeping-willow, where they are liable to 

 much greater motion, though formed of the same materials, they are always 

 made much deeper and of slighter textun'. He regards this as a mani- 

 festation of a remarkable intelligence, almost e^piivalent to reason. The 

 willow, <twing to the greater density of its foliage, affords better shelter, and 

 is ])referred on that account, and owing to the great swet'p, in the wind, of 

 the branches, the eggs would l)e liable to be rolled out if the nest were of 

 the usual dei>th ; hence this ada]»tation to such jtositions. 



The food of the ()rchar<l Oriole is almost exclusively insects. Of these 

 it consumes a large numi)er, and with tnem it also feeds its yitung. 

 Most of these are of the kinds most obnoxi<ais to the husl>andman. nreyiiiir 

 upon the foliage, destroying liie fruit, and otherwise injuring the trees, 

 and their destroyers render an iiiealcidable amount (tf benefit to the gar- 

 dens they favor with their jtresdiee. At the same time they are entirely 

 innocent of injury to erops of any descri])tion, and I cannot iind that any 

 aceu.sat ions oi' expressions of sus]>icion have been raised against them. They 

 seein tt» be. therefore, general favoritc^s. ami, wh(M'ever protected, evince their 

 Hp])reeiation of this good-will by their himiliarity and numbers. 



The female sits ujMin her eggs fourteen days, and the young remain in the 

 nest al>out ten days longer. They are su]>{»«tsed to haxc occasionally two 

 ])roods in a season, as nests with e<_;gs are found the last of July. They 

 are .said to arrive in rennsylvania about the first of May, and to leave before 

 the middle of Se])tember. 



According to Wilson they are easily raisi'd from the lu'st, and become very 



