THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE AND CARPENTER-BEE. 723 
‘not pulled nor twisted off, but cut or snipped off and always at 
one place, the articulation. But so far the whole affair seemed the 
result of sheer wantoriness, much as I have seen some vicious 
children beheading flies. The case had become intensely puz- 
aling ; for Nature is neither wanton nor wasteful. It seemed to 
that no bird would do it, for what could be the object of such 
waste? Again, it seemed that no strictly aérial insect could do it. 
Indeed, for an insect to capture and decapitate this great carpenter 
bee while on the wing or among the flowers, it would require a 
Tare combination, a powerful apparatus for attack and uncommon 
facilities of flight. 
_ And now was disclosed another wonder. On opening one of 
these headless insects the body was found to be hollow. Then a 
number were opened, and every body was found in like manner to 
Separation of the head. Not a wound nor a mark could be found 
anywhere on the body. I now began to suspect that the whole 
_ Was the work of birds. Inquiry was made of the German jani- 
_ tor who seemed pleased to be able to give a direct answer, to the 
effect, that ever since the horse-chestnut flowers had come out, 
three or four very beautiful birds had come every day to the trees 
and had been killing the carpenter-bees. Under the circumstances 
this information was very opportune. He was not able to give an 
intelligible description of the birds; so I asked him to watch and 
oot one for me, which he did the next day. It was a Baltimore 
oriole or golden robin (Icterus Baltimore). The specimen was a 
beautiful male, a last summer’s bird, hence hardly a year old. Its 
Plumage was perfect, but the colors not so deep as those of a more 
mature bird. 
The Baltimore oriole is an insect and berry eating bird. But 
here was a new habit of a curious and interesting character. If 
he Kea turns from honey to flesh, we find our oriole preferring 
honey to insect food, and resorting to the most singularly ingenious 
and outré methods to procure it—and with what intelligence! 
hen a boy, in common with his schoolmates the writer often 
tured the humble-bee, extracted the honey sac and sucked 
mt its luscious contents. How did those four golden robins 
find out our boy secret? We should rather have said secrets 
