Birds of Massachusetts. 97 
When the young are hatched, toward the end of | 
June, they both guard and provide for them with 
affectionate care. The lark has few enemies except- 
ing hawks and snakes and young sportsmen. "The 
farmer brings no charge against him, and even chil- 
dren spare the nest and the young. 
The Batrimore ORIOLE, Icterus Baltimore, is per- 
haps the most splendid of all our summer visiters, 
and is admired, both for the richness of its plumage 
and the full-hearted sweetness of its song. It is 
known by various names; children call it the gold- 
robin; it is often called the hang-bird, from the 
peculiar nest which it suspends from the tree, and 
some give it the poetical name of fire-bird, from its 
glancing through the foliage like a flame of fire. 
Most birds of this family remain in tropical climates, 
where they need an inaccessible nest to secure them 
from serpents, monkeys, and other artful foes, and 
when they come to us, they retain the same habit, 
though exposed to no such dangers. ‘They are not, 
however, without that prophetic instinct which is so 
remarkable in many birds. When they build in the 
south, they make their nest from the light moss, 
which allows the air to pass freely through it, and, 
as if aware of the heat which is to come, complete it 
without a lining ; while in the cool and variable cli- 
mate of New England, they make their nests of soft 
substances, closely woven, with a warm lining, and 
hang it in a place where it shall have tho early heat 
of the sun. í 
VOL. III.—NO. I-III 13 
