THE GOLDEN ORIOLE. 



187 



grudges it the daily meals it makes on his grain, and pease, 

 and juicy fruits — forgetting that the war it incessantly 

 carries on against beetles and other insects is worthy of a 

 much more liberal reward than it receives. 



In our earlier poetry it figures frequently under the 

 name of the Merle, the Woofil, or the Ousel. As in 

 Shakespeare : — _ - 



"The ousel cock, so black of hue, 

 With orange tawny bill." 



In our description of 

 the Bird Life of warmei 

 regions, we have re 

 ferred to the orioles, 

 most of which are re 

 markable for the skill 

 they exhibit in the con- 

 struction of their nests 

 Only one species — the 

 Golden Oriole — visit s 

 Temperate Europe ; and 

 its beauty of plumage, ^ft^-^ 

 which shines with the ^W" 

 glow of a golden yellow, I 

 relieved by tints of -- 

 black and gray, makes 

 it a welcome guest. It 

 builds a flat, saucer-shaped nest, of interwoven wool and 

 long stems of grass, which it attaches to the horizontal fork 

 of the branch of a sequestered tree. It displays no parti- 

 cular ingenuity ; probably because the need of defence 



UOLDEN ORIOLES AND NEST, 



