Semi-Pensile, Pensile or Hanging Nests 
Adult? —Greenish or grayish orange in general appearance ; 
head, back, and sometimes the throat slightly mottled with 
black; breast lighter grayish orange. Length—7.53. 
The young resemble the adult ¢ but haveno 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—.g2x.62. See Fig. to, 
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 
asingletree. 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.) 
Aduit—*‘ 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. 
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