142 A BIRD THIEF. 



ing creature stealing material from the king- 

 bird's nest, while her virtuous spouse perched 

 himself on the upper branch of the tree, exactly 

 as if on the watch for returning owners. In a 

 low tone he talked to her as she entered the un- 

 completed nest, worked busily a moment, then 

 appeared on the edge with a soft white feather, 

 gathered it into a convenient shape, and flew 

 with it in her beak to the upper branch. Twice 

 afterward I saw that performance repeated, and 

 each time it was a white feather taken. On one 

 occasion the kingbird was at home. There was 

 a sharp cry of distress, a bustle, and in a mo- 

 ment Madam Oriole flew off with a feather, 

 while the outraged owner stood on a neighbor- 

 ing branch and uttered two or three plaintive 

 cries. Considering the size and the belligerent 

 nature of the kingbird, I was astonished, but 

 exactly thus it happened. 



I greatly wished to stay and see the result, 

 for I had confidence enough in the bravery of 

 the kingbirds to be sure that the end was not 

 yet. Also, I longed to watch the restless pair 

 whose ups and downs I had found so interesting. 

 I should like to see the orchard oriole in the 

 role of a father ; a terribly fussy one he would 

 be without doubt. Above all, I most desired 

 to see the infant orioles, to know if they begin 

 their quarrels in their narrow cradle, and if 



