"The general shape and the material of the third nest were njuch the same as 

 those of the last; it was, however, suspended from the forked twig of an oak, and 

 draped, almost to concealment, with leaves. But it had a remarkable peculiarity, being 

 arched over and roofed in at the top with a dome of the same material as the rest, 

 and had a little round hole in one side just large enough to let the birds pass in. Such 

 a globular nest as this is probably exceptional; but now it will not do to say that 

 Orioles always build pensile pouches open at the top. 



"The eggs of this species are four or five in number, and rather elongated in form, 

 being much pointed at the smaller end. They measure, on an average, just an inch in 

 length by about two-thirds as much in greatest diameter, which is much nearer the 

 larger than the smaller end. In color they are very pale bluish, or rather whitish, with 

 a faint, dull blue shade, and are everywhere irregularly overrun with fine, sharp hair 

 lines of blackish-brown, or blackish with a slight tinge of purplish. These curious zigzag 

 markings are characteristic of the eggs of a majority of the birds of the family (Icteridse) . 

 They have no definite style, but wander at random over the surface, and in no two 

 specimens are they alike. Thus, in one specimen, the lines, fine as hairs, are wound 

 round and round the butt, with such regularity that they hardly ever interfere; in 

 others they are snarled up in different places, and sometimes, particularly at a sharp 

 turning-point, the lines spread into little spots; and there are often a few^ such isolated 

 markings in various places over the egg." 



Further accounts of the nidification of this beautiful species are given. Dr. Merriam, 

 who found it very abundant in Utah, says: "They build a beautiful hanging nest, often 

 ten and a half inches deep, and composed of fibres of grass, flax, and the inner bark of 

 vines, which is generally lined with wqol. The first lot were deep and solid ; were com- 

 posed chiefly of the fibres of flax and dry grass, and had a grayish appearance, while the 

 second lot — which were built by the sapie birds after their first had been taken — were not 

 very deep, had evidently been made in haste, and were principally composed of the inner 

 bark of small bushes and vines, giving them a brownish look. They generally conceal 

 their nests among the leaves on the top of a willow, from eight to ten feet above the 

 ground, in such a position that it rocks to and fro whenever there is a little wind." 



In all the fertile portions west of the Rocky Mountains, Prof. Robert Ridgway 

 found this Oriole. In May, when he visited the valley of the Truckee, near Pyramid 

 Lake, he observed them in great numbers in company with Louisiana Tanagers and 

 Black-headed Grosbeaks, feeding on the buds of the grease-wood. In certain localities 

 there was scarcely a tree that did not contain one or more nests of the Bullock's Oriole, 

 and as many as five have been found in a single tree. The notes of this species, 

 according to Mr. Ridgway, who has a fine ear for bird-song, are neither so distinct, so 

 mellow, nor so strong, and their effect is quite different from that produced by the 

 splendid mellow whistling of the eastern species. On the Shasta plains Mr. Lord noticed, 

 "in the nesting habits of this Oriole, a singular instance of the readiness with which 

 birds alter their habits under difiiculties. A solitary oak stood by a little patch of 

 water, both removed by many miles from other objects of the kind. Every available 

 branch and spray of this tree had one of the woven nests of this brilliant bird hanging 



from it, though hardly known to colonize in this manner." 



38 



