Semi-Pensile, Pensile or Hanging Nests 



Adult 'i — Greenish or grayish orange in general appearance; 

 head, back, and sometimes the throat sHghtly mottled with 

 black; breast lighter grayish orange. Length — 7.53- 



The young resemble the adult ? but have no black mottling. 



Breeding Range — From the Gulf States northward. 



The nest is so peculiar that it cannot be mistaken. It is pen- 

 sile or hanging, about six or seven inches deep, and is built of 

 fine grasses, plant fibres, downy seeds, wool, cotton string, hairs, 

 and sometimes strips of cloth ; these are woven together so as to 

 form a perfect bag, the sides of which are very thin. The inside 

 is lined with fine grass, hair, and wool. The nest is securely 

 laced to small twigs, usually at the end of a branch. From 4 to 

 6 eggs are laid. They are very pale gray, drab, or almost white, 

 with a few strange cabalistic scroll-like lines and blotches of a 

 dark purplish brown; some of these lines are so light in colour 

 that they are scarcely perceptible. Size — .92X.62. See Fig. 10, 

 Plate C. 



Although the Baltimore Oriole's nest is so easy to find, being 

 generally placed far from the ground, at the extreme end of an 

 overhanging branch of an elm tree, it is difficult to see whether 

 it contains eggs or young. Two nests are sometimes found in 

 a single tree. The elm seems to be preferred to all others, although 

 frequently the black-walnut, maple, apple, weeping-willow, or 

 almost any other tree may be selected. The most likely place to 

 find the nest is in the large trees along the roadside, near houses. 



The young may be reared without much difficulty, and I 

 know of few other birds that better repay the trouble of bringing 

 up; they are thoroughly sociable, and are a constant source of 

 amusement and interest; seldom quiet, they delight in finding 

 pieces of thread or string, which they weave and unweave in a 

 truly wonderful manner. (I have some reason to think that the 

 male birds do not weave.) They become so tame that even 

 when allowed to fly out of doors they will return to their cage. 



The nesting season begins about the third week in May. 



623. Black-whiskered Vireo: Vireo calidris barbatulus 



(Cab.) 



Adult — "Similar to the next species, but somewhat duller above, 

 and with a fuscous streak on either side of the throat." 

 (Chapman.) 



Breeding Range — The southern part of Florida. 



116 



