21ft HISTOKY or 



furpiising that so great a voice can reside in so small a body, 

 such perseverance in so minute an animal ! With what a musi- 

 cal propriety are tlie sounds it produces modulated ! The note 

 at one time drawn out with a long breath, now stealing off into 



consist of a clear mellow whistle, repeated at short intervals as he gleams 

 amon^ the branches. There is in it a certain wild plaintiveness and wiivete 

 extremely interestiiig. It is not uttered with rapidity, but with the pleas- 

 uR tranquillity of a careless plough.boy, whistling for amusement. Since 

 the streets of some of the American towns have been planted with Ivom. 

 bardy poplars, the orioles are constant visitors, chanting their native 

 " wood notes wild,'' amid the din of coaches, wheelbarrows, and sometimes 

 within a few yards of a bawling oysterwoman. 



The notes of the Orchard Oriole are neither so full nor so mellow as those 

 of the Baltimore, and are uttered more rapidly and gaily, while the bird is 

 flying and caroling in a hurried manner, so that the ear can seldom catch all 

 the tones. Among these there is one note especially which is very striking 

 and interesting. 



" Almost the whole genus of orioles, says Wilson, belong to America, and, 

 with a few exceptions, build pensile nests. Few of them, liowever, equal 

 the Baltimore oriole in the construction of these receptacles for their young, 

 and in giving them, in such a superior degree, convenience, warmth, and 

 security. For these purposes he generally fixes on the high bending ex- 

 tremities of the branches, fastening strong strings of hemp or flax round two 

 forked twigs, corresponding to the intended ^vidth of the nest ; with the 

 same materials, mixed with quantities of loose tow, he interweaves or fa- 

 bricates a strong firm kind of cloth, not unlike the substance of a hat in its 

 raw state, forming it into a pouch of six or seven inches in depth, lining it 

 substantially with various soft substances, well interwoven with the out- 

 .vard netting, and, lastly, finishes v.ith a layer of horse hair ; the whole be. 

 ing shaded from the sun and rain by a natural pent-house, or canopy of leaves. 

 As to a hole being left in the side for the young to be fed and void their ex- 

 crements through, as Pennent and others relate, it is certainly an error : 1 

 have never met with any thing of the kind in the nest of the Baltimore. 



" Though birds of the same species have, generally speaking, a common 

 form of building, yet, contrary to the usually received opinion, they do not 

 build exactly in the same manner. As much difference will be found in the 

 style, neatness, and finishing of the nests of the Baltimores, as in their 

 voices. Some appear fiir superior workmen to others : and probably age 

 may improve them in this, as it does in their colours. I have a number of 

 their nests now before me, all completed, and with eggs. One of these, the 

 neatest, is in the form of a cylinder, of five inches diameter, and seven inches 

 in depth, rounded at bottom. The opening at top is narrowed, by a hori- 

 zontal covering, to two inches and a half in diameter. Tlie materials are 

 flax, hemp, tow, hair, and ^I'ool, woven into a complete cloth ; the whole 

 tightly sewed through and through with long horse hairs, several of which 

 .•neasure two feet in length. The bottom is composed of thick tufts of cow 

 hair, sewed also with strong horse hair. This nest was hung on the ex- 

 tremity of the horizontal branch of an apple tree, fronting the southea-t, 

 was visible a hundred yards oil, iliu'.ij^h sheltered from the sun; and was the 



