BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 287 



and white are particularly noticeable. No system of color language can accurately 

 describe the varied shades of the early dresses of our trees and shrubs. Many of the hues 

 are softened and subdued, in contrast to the gaudy colors of autumn. How lovely is 

 the shadbush {Amelanchier canadensis), in full flower, among this variety of budding 

 trees, and what charm adds the sheep-berry {Viburnum Lentago) with its deep bronze- 

 green unfolding leaves to the road-sides and forest copses! And how beautiful is the 

 tender green young fohage of the beech ! 



When the army of Juncos, White-throats, White-crowns, and Fox Sparrows in their 

 migration have flown further north, and the Chippies have become more abundant; 

 w^hen a few Thrashers and Towhees are heard introducing themselves to the passers-by, 

 just before the Catbirds, Bobolinks, and Orioles arrive, this time may be called the 

 misty season of the year. Now the leaves prepare to unfold and the bud-scales grow 

 to their largest size. You can name no special date' when this season is in its 

 height. When the new leaves begin to unfold, the misty season vanishes, and color is 

 added to the landscape. Now the host of Warblers, the most elegant and attractive of 

 our birds, appear in great numbers. At the same time, in Wisconsin about May 9, the 

 Scarlet Tanager gleams in the bronzy colored and green unfolding foliage. The Rose- 

 breasted Grosbeak announces its presence by its enchantingly sweet song in the mixed 

 wo\^ds, where the oaks now appear as if decked with scraps of maroon velvet. And 

 what is this flash of fire in yonder drooping fresh green branches of the stately elm? 

 Surely,, the Baltimore Oriole has arrived, making the air vocal with its flute-like, 

 extremely touching notes, and by its rattling tarrtrrrrr. It imbues the vernal trees with 

 an indescribable charm and poetry, and in its fiery orange plumage it really seems like an 

 arrival from the tropics. We see these birds flash through the blossoming trees, and all 

 the time hear their warbling and wooing notes. Although observed in many different 

 " trees, the Baltimore Oriole has a predilection for the broad spreading elms standing near 

 the stateliest mansion as w^ell as by the humblest farm house. 



The elm is the most picturesque, the most beautiful of all our northern trees. 

 Though not donned in broad, shining evergreen foliage, and not bespangled with large 

 fragrant flow^ers like the noble magnolia of the South, the broad head of light 

 pendulous branches, supported by a strong stem, is unsurpassed for picturesqueness and 

 beauty. No other northern tree is associated in the mind of the people to an equal 

 extent with the idea of home. It forms the most remarkable feature of the northern 

 domestic landscape, and the bright-colored, sprightly and famiKar Baltimore Oriole is 

 always associated with this stately tree, especially in New England. Indeed, it is one 

 of our best known and most beloved birds, "famous alike for its flash of color, its assi- 

 duity in singing, and its architectural ability." 



There ai-e few of our birds combining so many of the gifts and graces of their 

 class as the Baltimore Oriole, in showy array of orange, black, and white, and an ex- 

 cellent entertainer in song and manners. That it is a highly esteemed and familiar bird 

 is shown by its variety of popular names. In allusion to its bright orange plumage it 

 is called "Golden Robin," and "Fire-bird," and from its exquisite pensile nest it received 

 the name "Hangnest." Its more common name of Baltimore Oriole is not derived from 

 the city of that name, but from the Earl of Baltimore, who became the lord of Balti- 



