THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 63 
longest dried filaments of moss, with the aid of 
bill and claws, he fastens the one end to a twig, 
with as much art as a sailor, and then secures 
the other a few inches off, leaving the thread 
floating in the air like a swing, the curve ot 
which is, perhaps, seven or eight inches from 
the branches to which it is suspended. The 
Baltimore oriole is thus frequently called the 
“hanging bird,” from the peculiarity of its 
nest. “ Much difference is distinguishable in these 
structures; some, from their solidity and ele- 
gance, showing superior skill in the craftsmen, 
while others, more slovenly, have their habi- 
tations ill contrived. The women in the country 
are under the necessity of narrowly watching 
their thread, and the farmer of securing his 
young grafts, as the bird frequently carries off - 
both.”* 
The oriole’s helpmate then comes to his as. 
sistance, and, after inspecting the work her com 
panion has done, commences her labours by 
placing some fresh threads of a fibrous substance 
in a contrary direction, thus forming a graceful 
fabric of network, woven so firmly that no 
tempest ever can carry away the nest, without 
breaking the branch also. As if aware of the 
heat which must in those regions shortly ensue, 
* Wilson’s Americar Ornithology. 
