408 DIVISION I. VKKTEBKAL ANIMALS. — CLASS II. AVES. 



lioppcrs, and spiders. According to Audubon, they sing with great liveliness 

 in cages, being fed on rice and dry fruits when fresii cannot be procured. 

 Their ordinary diet, it appears, is caterpillars and insects, of wliich they 

 destroy great quantities. In tiie course of the season they likewise feed on 

 various kinds of juicy fruits and berries, but their depredations on the fruits 

 of tlie orciiard are very unimportant." 



i'lie Bahiuiore Oriole is very f'aniiliar in its liabits, building its swinging 

 nest in the branches of the elm tree wiiicii overlianirs the cottaTce or farm- 

 house, and peeping into tlie windows and doors in its searcli for tiu'cads and 

 pieces of cotton cloth for fabrication into its nest, uttering at the same time 

 a rich, clear wiiistlc, tiiat always sounds clicerful and lively. 



Nuttall describes the nest of the species in tiie following : — 



"Tlicrc is nothing more remarkaltle in the whole instinct of our Golden 

 lidbin tlian the ingenuity disphiycd in tiic fal)rication of its nest, which is, 

 in fact, a pendulous, cylindric poucli, of five to seven inciies in deptii, usu- 

 ally suspended from near tiie extremities of tlie iiigli drooping branches of 

 trees (such as the ehn, the pear or apple tree, wild eiicrrv, weeping willow, 

 tulip tree, or buttonwood). It is Ijcgim by firmly fastening natural strings 

 of flie flax of tlie silkweed, or swam[) hollyhock, or stout artificial threads, 

 around two or more forked twigs, corresponding to the intended width and 

 dcpfli (if the nest. Witii the same materials, willow-dciwn, or any accidental 

 ravellings, strings, thread, sewing-silk, tow, or wool, that may be lying near 

 the neigliboring houses, or around grails of trees, they interweave and fab- 

 ricate a sort of coarse cloth into the form intended, towards the bottom of 

 which they place the real nest, made chietly of lint, wiry grass, horse and 

 cow li.air : sometimes, in defect of hair, lining the interior with a mixture 

 of slender strips of smooth vine-bark, and rarely with a few feathers ; the 

 whole being of a considerable thirknos, and mure or less attached to the 

 external pouch. Over the to;), the leaves, as they grow out, form a verdant 

 and agreeable canopy, defending the young from the sun and rain. There 

 is sometimes a considerable diilerein'e in the manufacture of these nests, as 

 ■well as in the materials which enter into their composition. Both sexes 

 seem to be equally adcfjts at this sort of lalior ; and I have seen the female 

 alone perform the whole without any assistance, and the male also complete 

 this labcu'ious task nearly witlmut the aid of his consort, who, however, in 

 general, is the principal worker." 



The cii'gs are four or five in number. They are of a flesh color, with 

 sometimes a bluish tint : they are markcil with obscure lines of lavender, 

 over which are irregular scratches and lines, as if done with a pen, of van- 

 dyke brown and black. Their dimensions average about .90 by .70 inch. 

 The food of this bird, and also of tlic preceding species, consists of cater- 



