ISO 



THE OOLOGIST 



treated and each time they returned 

 to the vicinity of a tall, spreading elm 

 tree. If I did not approach too near 

 they seemed to linger near this tree, 

 and I stopped for further observation. 

 Both birds were high up, and one of 

 them seemed to be more restless than 

 the other and kept dropping lower 

 down among the branches until it 

 finally disappeared, and the other bird 

 flew away. It then occurred to me 

 that the nest might be placed some- 

 where in the long, drooping moss, 

 which hung from the extremities of 

 the branches, in the manner of many 

 nests of the hooded oriole. Selecting 

 the most favorable appearing spot, I 

 pitched a small stick up against it 

 and was rewarded by seeing the bird 

 leave from a small opening about 

 twenty feet from the ground and many 

 feet out from the body of the tree. 

 This nest could not be reached by 

 climbing the tree, and I was at a loss 

 to know how to secure it. I finally 

 procured three long straight poles and, 

 with the aid of the strap from my col- 

 lecting box, fastened them together 

 near their extremities and raised this 

 tripod directly under the hanging 

 moss. It took but a moment then to 

 climb into the fork thus formed, and 

 with a stick with a fork at the end I 

 pulled the mass of moss from the 

 branch and secured the set unharmed. 

 A favorite nesting place of the 

 species is iifthe Mexican persimmon 

 tree, a small tree that has a very 

 heavy growth of leaves, and in the 

 thickest part of these trees I have 

 taken a number of sets. Again the 

 nest is found in the midst of a cluster 

 of leaves of a climbing vine, where it 

 is well hidden from view. Sometimes 

 the nest is placed in a mesquite tree, 

 usually about two thirds of the dis- 

 tance from the ground to the top of 

 the tree and quite close to the trunk, 

 but never far out on the branches like 



some of the other kinds of orioles. In 

 only one instance have I seen a nest 

 placed near the top of a mesquite 

 tree. In one instance I found a nest 

 in a clump of bunch moss, growing in 

 a hackberry tree and so nicely con- 

 cealed that it required a close inspec- 

 tion to detcet it. 



The nest of this species can be told 

 at a glance from those of any other 

 species 1 1 is always made of fine, 

 wiry strappings from the edge of the 

 Spanish .dagger, and, although it is 

 often so thin-walled that the eggs may 

 be plainly seen through the bottom, 

 yet is very strong and can be torn 

 from its fastenings with difficulty. 

 Sometimes it is frail in construction; 

 at other times it is well built, with 

 thick walls. Some nests are made en- 

 tirely of dagger strippings with no lin- 

 ing; others are lined with horsehair. 

 If the nest is placed in a clump of 

 Spanish moss, it will be found to be 

 of the same construction. 



Five eggs make a full nest com- 

 plement. The bird is imposed upon by 

 the bronzed cowbird to such an extent 

 that it is difficult to find a full set. I 

 have only one perfect set. All of the 

 rest have eggs of the cowbird in them, 

 and in one instance there are two eggs 

 of the oriole and four of the cowbird; 

 several sets consist of four eggs of 

 the oriole and one of the cowbird. 



I have found this oriole to be easily 

 disturbed, and in every instance where 

 a nest was examined before all of the 

 eggs were, laid even though the nest 

 was not touched, the bird would aban- 

 don it. 



If the nest contains fresh eggs, I 

 have never been able to find the bird 

 at the nest; and, in such cases, I sup- 

 pose the bird slips away unobserved, 

 and it does not return while the in- 

 truder is near. I have found several 

 nests with young birds in them, and 

 in each instance the bird did not put 



