44 " SOME CANADIAN BIRDS. 



All the orioles are noted for their architectural ability, and my 

 lord of Baltimore adds to this distinguished characteristic his bril- 

 liant costume and rich, rolling song. Little wonder, then, that the 

 bird is the pride of the whole country-side wherein he hangs his 

 famous nest. And a remarkable structure tliat nest is — remarkable 

 when wo consider that these little creatures construct it with no 

 other implements than claws and bill. It is formed like a pouch, 

 some six to eight inches deep and slightly narrowed at the top, and 

 is fastened to the slender twigs near the end of a bough, where it 

 swings with every movement of the air. The materials used are 

 such fibrous substances as blades of dried grass, roots, strips of 

 bark and stray bits of yarn or twine ; anything in short that is 

 sufficiently pliable to weave, for the oriole's nest is a woven fabric. 



That these birds have an appreciation of color and a color sense 

 was demonstrated by a lady residing in Brookline, one of Boston's 

 beautiful suburbs. My friend noticed an oriole carrying off a piece 

 of blue yarn which had fallen beneath her window, so she threw 

 out other pieces of the yarn, and these Avere taken also. The blue 

 yarn giving out, the lady added pieces of red and yellow, and 

 within a few days had the satisfaction of knowing that she had sup- 

 plied the birds with a large quantity of nest-building material, 

 every bit of the yarn having been carried away. Interested in 

 learning just how this had been used, she hunted through the 

 adjoining grove, guided by the orioles, who were constantly 

 moving about and as constantly singing, and was soon rewarded by 

 finding a nest in which the blue yarn was very conspicuous. But 

 no other color was to be seen. What had become of the red and 

 the yellow ? A further search led to the discovery of a bunch of 

 red far up on a neigliboring tree, which on examination proved 

 to be the home of another pair of orioles. The yellow escaped 

 detection, but when the leaves had fallen it was seen dangling from 

 the bough of a stately elm by the roadside. 



The orioles are able to make their weaving so firm and to fasten 

 the nest so securely to its supporting twigs that it stands well the 

 storm and stress of the weather. Even after the parents and young 

 desert it, when the rude winds toss the branch on which it hangs 

 and the autumn gales beat away the sheltering leaves, still the nest 

 swings and often survives the entire winter. 



