CTbe XlMarWer io 5 



The Oriole delights to suspend its ingenious nest in the drooping bran- 

 ches of a large elm tree, though apple, pear, maple and black walnut are 

 used. A weeping willow also affords a fine site. The Oriole is in every 

 way a most conspicuous and noisy bird and his presence cannot be over- 

 looked. He has a variety of notes, all of which are musical, but the song 

 proper is not often heard. It is a wild, rollicking series of notes rapidly given 

 and strikes me as being an outburst of long-suppressed emotion which is ab- 

 solutely uncontrollable. No other bird song conveys to me so much evidence 

 of spontaneous, soul-felt joy. 



The nest of the Baltimore Oriole is a deep, pocket-like affair, made of 

 soft fiber, pieces of string, horsehair, etc., ingeniously woven together. On 

 account of its nest the bird is known in many places as the Hang-Bird. 

 The eggs, usually five in number, are of an ashy-gray color, curiously and 

 irregularly striped and banded with fine black lines. Among oologists the 

 eggs are considered to be exceedingly handsome. The Oriole breeds freely 

 in all the suburbs of New York City, and throughout Long Island.. It is 

 more common in the Hudson River valley than any other place I know of. 

 At West Park, the home of John Burroughs, scores of nests may be counted 

 in the large elms that shade the streets. 



American Goldfinch 



{Astragalinus tristis) 



THE sprightly little Goldfinch, known as Thistle-bird and Wild Canary 

 is by no means a rare breeder in the city limits of New York, but the 

 bird has a habit of nesting very late when the foliage of trees is exceedingly 

 dense, and thus escapes observation to a greater extent than most any other 

 bird. The Goldfinches come very early in the spring and linger to the 

 verge of winter. I have seen them in December and again in February, 

 and during mild winters some may remain all the year. The plumage is 

 inconspicuous during fall and winter, both sexes looking very much alike, 

 but in early spring the male begins to develop his bright yellow body color, 

 with black wings and tail, which renders him an exceedingly conspicuous and 

 beautiful bird. 



All the notes of the Goldfinch are Canary-like, the song very much so, 

 and if anything more thrilling and beautiful than any caged bird. His 

 song, however, is not often heard, as the bird sings very little. I do not 

 hear the song over five or six times a year, though during the spring months 

 I am constantly on the alert for it, for without exception it is one of the 

 most cheery strains of bird music to be heard in eastern North America. 



The food of the Goldfinch consists almost wholly of seed of composit- 

 seas. The thistle is a favorite, and in any old field or pasture where this 

 plant abounds the Goldfinch may always be found. The birds also come to 



