520 DAN BEARD'S ANIMAL BOOK 



maples at the side of my house. There is a pair 

 of orioles which have built a nest in an elm tree 

 from carpet ravelings that I supplied. The robin 

 in the corner tree saw that his neighbor was 

 making a pretty nest, and, not to be outdone, he 

 took a bright piece of a kite-tail a boy had lost in 

 the tree, and wove it in his nest. The oriole saw 

 it and came and tugged at the ribbon until he had 

 stolen it away from the robin. 



It has lately become quite a custom 



TO SUPPLY RAGS TO THE ROBINS 



with which to decorate their nests, and yarn to the 

 orioles for the same purpose. 

 Last spring my neighbors had 



"THE LAUGH ON ME" 



because the robins refused to use my cast-off red 

 neckties and preferred some white cotton strips 

 furnished by a lady across the street. 



I noticed a kingbird helping himself to some of 

 the white rags although I have never seen rags in 

 their nests. 



A robin on Jamaica Avenue, Flushing, decorated 

 its nest with bits of fine lace which it found bleach- 

 ing upon our alderman's lawn. 



As I stepped from my door in Flushing Tor my 

 customary walk, a voice from the branches of the 

 maple tret overhead exclaimed, "Chip Jar!" and 

 I knew that it was one of our most beautiful sum- 

 mer visitors 



