LAND BIRDS. 451 
come first, as is usual with birds of this family, the females following from 
five to ten days later. Ordinarily the species first becomes abundant 
at the time the apple trees are coming into full bloom. Almost immediately 
on the arrival of the females nest-building begins and most nests are com- 
pleted and contain eggs by the first of June. Dates for fresh eggs in 
Kalamazoo county are May 21, 1887, June 1 and 2, 1891, June 8 and June 
11, 1888. On the College campus the young almost invariably leave the 
Ba between June 18 and 30, the great majority between the 20th and 
25th. 
Before the middle of July both old and young have disappeared 
from garden, orchard and park, and except for an occasional almost silent 
individual at rare intervals, none are seen again until about the middle 
of August, from which time until their departure for the south in September 
they are fairly common and the male frequently sings almost as sweetly 
as in May. This disappearance for a month or more is rather apparent. 
than real, for a careful search of the woods and swamps will reveal a fair 
number of orioles, spending most of their time, however, in the leafy crowns 
of the higher trees, where they are hardly visible, and being almost silent 
are pretty sure to be overlooked. They may also be found at this season 
about wild cherry and service berry trees, feeding on the ripening fruit. 
The nest is a purse-shaped net of plant fibres, twine, roots and hair, 
varying in size and depth, but usually fastened by its upper border to 
several drooping twigs on the hanging branch of some large tree, preferably 
an elm, oak, or birch, although nests are seen occasionally in a dozen other 
kinds of trees. These nests are so firmly fastened and so durably woven 
that not infrequently a nest lasts for several years, although the builder 
never uses the same nest for more than a single brood. The bird appears 
to return year after year to the same tree, and often to the same branch, 
and sometimes two or’ even three nests built in consecutive years may be 
seen on the same branch in winter. The eggs are pale bluish-white or 
rosy-white, spotted, streaked and pen-scratched with black and brown, 
mostly at the largerend. They average .91 by .61 inches. The set usually 
consists of four, but often five are found and rarely six. The period of 
incubation is about fourteen days. 
Captain Bendire says of its song: ‘‘A very peculiar note, a long drawn 
out chattering ‘chae, chae, chae’ is apt to draw ones attention to it on its 
first arrival, and this is more or less frequently uttered throughout the 
season. This note is difficult to reproduce exactly, and I find its song still 
more so. One sounds somewhat like ‘hioh, hioh, tweet, tweet; another 
something like ‘whee-he-he, whee-he-he, oh whee-he-he-woy-woy.’ This 
last is much more softly uttered than the first.” 
The food of the oriole has a wide range, but consists mainly of insects, 
at least while with us. It is true that it has a special fondness for green 
peas, sometimes stripping the pods so freely as to cause con- iy 
siderable complaint. It also punctures ripening grapes = 
whenever it has opportunity, but particularly where vines #, 
have run up into trees or over arbors or shrubbery in such “Fig. Oe: 
a way as to hide the bird while at work. It is rare to hear Bill of Baltimore 
complaints from grape growers, for where the vines are us 
numerous and properly pruned the Oriole seldom injures them. Occasion- 
ally it attacks early apples and pears, digging holes into the soft pulp and 
of course ruining each apple attacked. This work, however, is often carried 
on in conjunction with several other birds, notably Red-headed Wood- 
