Some Foreign Bird Architects. 



trees in the orchards. The finished nest is attached 

 by its rim at several points to the branch selected by 

 the bird. 



The Orchard Oriole, or Bobolink, a closely allied 

 species, is an equally skilful weaver. It is fond 

 of building in the weeping willow tree, whose droop- 

 ing leaves afford a most effectual concealment, while 

 the delicate twigs are often fastened together so as to 

 support the entire circumference of the entrance to 

 the nest. The Cassique, or Crested Oriole, is quite 

 as sociable in its habits as the Baltimore Oriole, fre- 

 quenting gardens and orchards, so that its habits can 

 easily be observed. Its nest is pocket-shaped, but is 

 considerably longer than that of the Baltimore Oriole, 

 and of much looser texture, and generally built of rather 

 coarser material, vegetable fibres and strips of bark 

 being used in its construction. In collecting the strips 

 of bark the Cassique displays considerable ingenuity, 

 pulling up a little tag of the outer bark with the aid 

 of its beak, and then seizing it and flying along the 

 branch in such a way as to peel off a long, thin strip. 

 With this material and other plant fibres the bird weaves 

 a nest some five to six inches in diameter, and often 

 three to four feet in length. 



The true Weaver Birds are distributed over Africa, 

 India, and the Malay Peninsula, and their nests are 

 certainly among the most interesting productions of 

 bird architecture. How wonderfully perfect is their 

 art can be seen by reference to the photograph (Plate 

 XVI .), which shows a particularly perfect example. 

 The common Baya Weaver Bird (Ploceus bayd) is found 

 throughout that wonderful land, from Cape Comorin 



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