THE GOLDEN ORIOLE. 271 



possession of eggs of this species laid in 

 Britain." 



The nest which I am now enabled to record 

 was placed in a fork of a very thin bough of an 

 elm tree, at a considerable height from the 

 ground, and almost at the extremity of the 

 branch, so that it was impossible to reach it 

 except by cutting off the branch near the trunk. 

 Happily, in this case there was no need to reach 

 it, and the finder was enabled to ascertain when 

 the young were hatched by sending a man up 

 the tree high enough to look into the nest 

 without disturbing it. A few days before his 

 first ascent there had been a strong wind blow- 

 ing for some time, and the slender branch was 

 swayed to and fro to such an extent, that, not- 

 withstanding the depth of the saucer-like nest, 

 one of the eggs was jerked out upon the grass 

 below and broken, though not irreparably so. 

 When I saw it, it was in two pieces, but unmis- 

 takably the egg of an Oriole — in size equal to 

 that of a Blackbird, but shining white, with 

 black or rather dark claret-coloured spots at the 



