VISITING THE ORIOLES. 215 



like a bundle of rags. Her last experimental 

 call was now made upon another household, the 

 Baltimore orioles, and there she met with some- 

 thing new perfect indifference. Even when 

 both of the birds were at home they did not 

 resent her coming in. She went to the upper 

 perch with them ; the cage was big, there was 

 plenty of room, and they were willing. Their 

 manners, in fact, were so agreeable that if 

 their cups had been supplied with seed, I think 

 she would have taken up her abode with them ; 

 as it was, she frequently spent half an hour at 

 a time there. On this eventful day Virginia be- 

 gan to sing, for in her family the musical per- 

 formances are not confined to the males. 



After several days of retirement, the cardinal 

 plucked up spirit to resume his annoyance of 

 Virginia, and for a few nights a queer sort of 

 game was played by the two, explain it who 

 can. If the barrier between the cages was re- 

 moved after the outside doors were shut for the 

 night, he at once went to her cage and to the 

 middle perch. Virginia, on the upper perch, 

 waited till he reached that spot, then dropped 

 to the floor, slipped through the door into his 

 cage, and went to the upper perches there, 

 where she hopped back and forth, while he 

 did the same in her cage. Suddenly, after a 

 few moments, down he came again through the 



