NATURE STUDY. 
136 
a delightful bird song repeated again and again in the or¬ 
chard back of the house, and sallying forth, opera-glass in 
hand, I proceeded to interview the little gentleman with 
the vireo-like voice. Chapman has well said that ‘‘Words 
cannot describe his song,” but to me it possesses qualities 
that suggest the notes of the warbling vireo, though it is a 
much more pleasing melody. 
One glance through the lenses showed that it was no 
vireo, and a more careful scrutiny told me that my new 
neighbor was an orchard oriole. Evidently he failed to 
reciprocate my feeling, for he left the cherry tree where he 
had been singing and hastily retreated into the top of an 
old sugar maple which stood a few rods away. There he 
remained, flitting about, peering down with his bright, 
bead-like eyes, and occasionally scolding in a low voice, 
as though talking to himself. These were the tactics 
which he followed with little variation whenever I attempt¬ 
ed to observe him closely. From first to last he continued 
alert, timid, suspicious. 
The female moved about like a shadow—stealing in and 
out of the nest so quietly that I seldom saw her, except 
when I frightened her away by a too close approach to the 
nest, which was built in the forked branch of a young ap¬ 
ple tree, about ten feet from the ground. Judged by the 
standard of protective coloration, it was not wholly a suc¬ 
cess, for the straw-colored basket contrasted sufficiently 
with the green leaves to enable me to locate it without any 
difficulty. It should be noted, however, that the nest har¬ 
monized perfectly with the olive green and dull yellow of 
the female. The outside of the cup-shaped structure was 
composed entirely of grass blades, chosen with care and 
precision, and woven with a skill that deserves to rank 
this oriole high among his fellow artisans. Within this 
cleverly contrived basket—as may be seen in the accom- 
