58 BALTIMORE ORIOLE 



Fisher has seen the Oriole go up before a cater- 

 pillar's nest and, after puncturing it with his bill, 

 stand and wait for the caterpillars to come out. 

 As each one appeared he seized it and after 

 sucking the juices of its body threw away the 

 hairy skin covering. The doctor also reports 

 that the young Orioles are very fond of mul- 

 berries, and says he has seen " a whole brood 

 camping in a mulberry-tree." As a relish in lieu 

 of olives, the Oriole sometimes takes a few grapes 

 and peas, though peas have been found in only 

 2 out of the 113 stomachs examined. As for 

 the grapes, Mr. Lawrence Bruner suggests in his 

 ' Notes on Nebraska Birds,' if " especially in dry 

 sections we take pains to water our birds during 

 the dry season, they will be much less apt to seek 

 this supply from the juices of fruits that are so 

 temptingly near at hand. Place little pans of 

 water in the orchard and vineyard where the birds 

 can visit them without fear of being seized by 

 the house cat or knocked over by a missile from 

 the alert ' small boy,' and I am sure that the in- 

 jury to fruit to a great extent at least will cease." 

 Speaking of the Baltimore Oriole, he adds : " As 

 insect destroyers, both this bird and the Orchard 

 Oriole have had an undisputed reputation for 

 many years ; and the kind of insects destroyed by 

 both are of such a class as count in their favor." 

 One far-sighted man, who reports that the Oriole 

 eats his grapes, nevertheless adds that the bird 



