12 BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 
count of their distance from the native residence of these birds, and 
the strange alterations of color which the latter are subject to. 
This obscurity Ihave endeavored to clear up in the present volume 
of this work, Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14, by exhibiting the male and female 
of the Oriolus spurius in their different changes of dress, as well as 
in their perfect plumage ; and by introducing representations of the 
eggs of both, have, I hope, put the identity. of these two species 
beyond all future dispute or ambiguity. eee: : 
Almost the whole genus of Orioles belong to America, and, with a 
few exceptions, build pensile nests.* Few of them, however, equal 
the Baltimore in the construction of these receptacles for their young, 
and in giving them, in such a superior degree, convenience, warmth, 
and security. For these purposes he generally fixes on the high, 
bending extremities of the branches, fastening strong strings of hemp- 
or flax round two forked twigs, corresponding to the intended width 
of the nest: with the same materials, mixed with quantities of loose 
tow, he interweaves or fabricates a strong, firm kind of cloth, not un- _ 
like the substance of a hat in its raw state, forming it into a pouch of 
six or seven inches in depth, lining it substantially with various soft 
substances, well interwoven with the outward netting, and, lastly, fin- 
ishes with a layer of horse hair; the whole being shaded from the 
sun and rain by a natural pent-house, or canupy of leaves, As toa 
hole being left in the side for the young to be fed and void their 
excrements through, as Pennant and others relate, it is certainly an 
error: J have never met with any thing of the kind in the nest of the 
Baltimore. 
Though birds of the same species have, generally speaking, a com- 
mon form of building, yet, contrary to the. usually received opinion, 
they. do not build exactly in the same manner. As much difference 
will be found in the style, neatness, and finishing of the nests of the 
Baltimores, as in their voices. Some appear far superior workmen to 
* The true Orioles, having the Oriolus galbula of Europe and Africa, with O. 
melanocephalus of India, as typical, are entirely excluded trom the New World; 
nevertheless Wilson was perfectly correct, meaning the Icteri of Brisson, which 
are nearly confined to North and South America, represent the Orioles in that coun- 
try, and have now been alge into several genera. ‘I'hese contain many species 
remarkable as well for their elegant form and bright and beautiful plumage, as for 
the singular and often matchless workmanship of their nests. - The materials of the 
latter are woven and entwined in such a way as would defy the skill of the most 
expert seamstress, and unite all the ee of dryness, security, and warmth. 
They are mostly pendulous from the ends of branches, and form thus a security 
from snakes or other depredators, which could easily reach them if placed on a 
more solid foundation. ‘They are formed of the diiferent grasses, of dry roots, 
, lichens, long and slender mosses, and in the present instances, ineatlionsel” by our 
- author, of substances which could not occur in the early or really natural staie of 
the country, but had been adopted either from necessity, or “ with the s ugacity of a 
‘ood architect,” improving every circumstance to the best advantage. mong the 
ifferent species, they vary in shape, from being round or resembling a compact 
ball, to nearly every bottle-shaped gradation of form, until they exceed three or four 
feet in length. Many species being gregarious, they breed numerously on the same 
ee and their nests, Soe from the pensile branches, and waving in the wind, 
render the landscape and woods singular to an unaccustomed eye, and present ap- 
pearances which those only who have had the good fortune to witness them in their 
native wilds can appreciate. 
+ The female is given by Wilson, in fig. 212.— Ep. 
