nests which I found near our home I infer that quite a number of new pairs have 

 settled. This I attribute to the excellent nesting material with which the birds are 

 provided, and to the fresh water which is always placed conveniently for their use. I 

 usually deposit all kinds of strings, especially the soft white threads of unraveled cotton 

 cloth, on the branches of the oaks. All the nests are works of art, and those constructed 

 of the unraveled cotton threads appear on the outside like a Turkish bathing towel. 

 It seems as if such a nest had been woven by skilful hands. Most of the nests are 

 purse-shaped, the longest I measured was eleven inches in length. The young are 

 fed exclusively with insects. Our trees around the house are entirely free from insects, 

 which is due to the many birds we have here, while near and in San Francisco, where 

 these and other birds are absent, often already in June the trees are bereft of their leaves 

 by all kinds of insects. — The song of Bullock's Oriole is exceedingly melodious, tender, and 

 touching, reminding us of the tones of a violin tpuched by a master hand. They leave us 

 in July, and we often wish we could depart with them, for now the days appear, which do 

 not please us. No beneficial and refreshing rain falls throughout the summer. Brooks and 

 ponds dry up. The mercury shows 110 to 115° F. in the shade during the afternoon, 

 and everybody who is able to leave, spends several months on the sea shore, which is 

 only thirty miles away. Everywhere we see the tents of a happy and nonchalant 

 people, enjoying the cool sea breeze and the magnificent landscape in a manner, which, 

 in this proportion, is not found in any other part of the country." 



A nest which Mrs. Zimmermann has sent me, is built entirely of the unraveled 

 threads of cotton ; it is about eight inches long, by five in width. Its outside appearance 

 reminds one of a rough bathing towel. 



Dr. Elliott Coues has given us the following classic life-history of this Oriole: 



"In the pine-clad mountains of Arizona and New Mexico, I never saw it until 

 about the middle of April ; then, and until the cool weather of September, I was almost 

 daily gratified with the sight of the gaily-hued birds gleaming through the sombre 

 foliage like tiny meteors, and with the sound of their musical voices awakening echoes 

 along the deepening aisles of the woodland. 



"In the countries just mentioned, the belts of thick cotton-wood and willows that 

 generally fringe the streams are favorite resorts, perhaps because the pliant twigs are 

 best suited to their wants in constructing their nests. All the Orioles are wonderful 

 architects, weaving pensile nests of soft, pliable, fibrous substances, with a nicety and 

 beauty of finish that human art would vainly attempt to rival. These elegant fabrics 

 are hung at the end of slender twigs, out of reach of ordinary enemies; and though 

 they may swing with every breath of wind, this is but cradle-rocking for the callow 

 young, and it is a rude blast indeed that endangers the safety of their leafy home. 



"Little time passes after their arrival before the modestly-attired females, rambling 

 silently through the verdure, are singled out and attended each by her impetuous con- 

 sort, who sings his choicest songs, and displays the prowess she admires most. His 

 song is an elegant paraphrase of the Baltimore's, with all its richness and variety, though 

 an ear well skilled in distinguishing birds' notes can readily detect a difference. Their 

 courtship happily settled, the pair may be seen fluttering through the thicket they have 

 chosen, in eager searfch for a building place; and when a suitable one is found, no time 



