" UPON THE TREE-TOP." 125 



culiar, four or five loud notes on an ascend- 

 ing scale, rapidly and constantly repeated, like 

 " chr-r-r-r." 



I should think the parents of these clamorous 

 creatures would have been driven wild, and 

 they did appear nearly so ; almost every mo- 

 ment one or the other brought food to the two 

 bawlers, who were on different trees twenty 

 feet apart. Each one sat stock still, like a lost 

 child afraid to stir, and gave his whole mind to 

 the noise he was making, and I wondered how 

 they had raised courage to fly so far from home. 

 I felt greatly chagrined that they had flown 

 without my seeing them, but on returning to 

 my usual seat was consoled to find the nest not 

 yet empty. The father gave his almost undi- 

 vided attention to the two already out, but the 

 mother was very busy at the homestead, and I 

 resolved that no more should fly without my 

 assisting at the operation, at least by my pres- 

 ence ; consequently I nearly lived upon the ve- 

 randa. All through the next day, until nearly 

 eight o'clock, those youngsters could be heard 

 crying, and on the third day the sounds came 

 from further off, and the male oriole was rarely 

 seen. 



The twenty-fifth passed, and no birds left the 

 nest ; the next day there was a stir in the ma- 

 ple. Early in the morning a nestling scrambled 



