262 



LAND-BIRDS. 



violent gale. It consists of plant-fibres, dry grasses, and 

 such materials as may be accidentally obtained, such as 

 thread, string, yarn, wool, and bits of cloth, aU of which are 

 firmly interwoven. Though its structure and shape exhibit 

 much variation, yet it is usually enlarged near the bottom and 

 warmly lined, most often with hairs. It is frequently built 



Fig. 13. Baltimore Oriole, 



beneath a canopy of leaves, so as to be sheltered from the 

 rays of the sun. In Massachusetts, it is generally finished 

 in the last week of May, or about the first of June. Dr. 

 Abbott believes it to be built, when in exposed situations, so 

 as to conceal the sitting bird, especially from Hawks, but 

 otherwise to be more open at the top. 



The eggs of each set are four, five, or sometimes six, average 

 .90 X .60 of an inch, and are white, feebly tinged with an in- 

 definite color, or bluish, and are marked (but not thickly) with 

 lines, scrawls, and spots, of brown, black, and often faint lilac. 



c. The male Golden " Robins " are among the few brilliant 

 birds that come so far to the northward as New England. 

 They reach Massachusetts about the tenth of May, and are 

 soon followed by the females. Though abundantly distributed 

 through this State, they are not common beyond it. Wherever 

 they go, they attract 'attention by their bright colors, their loud 

 notes, and their peculiar nest. This latter structure requires 

 the labor of a pair for a week or ten days. It is most interest- 

 ing to watch its progress ; but I have generally found it un- 

 satisfactory to observe birds while building, so far as regards 



