THE LIVING WORLD. 
33 i 
himself, a bystander destitute of sight would suppose that the whole feathered 
tribe had assembled together on a trial of skill, each striving to produce his 
utmost effect. He often deceives the sportsman and sends him after game birds 
that remain invisible; even birds themselves are deceived by this marvellous 
mimic and are decoyed by the fancied calls of their mates, or dive with precipi¬ 
tate haste into the depths of thickets at the scream of what they believe to be 
the sparrow-hawk. Again, he whistles a call that starts a dog to his master, or 
chirrups like a young chicken in 
distress, and causes the hen to 
hurry with bristling feathers and 
hanging wings to her injured brood. 
He imitates the creak of a wheel¬ 
barrow, the cluck of a hen, the 
“putrack ” of a guinea fowl, or may 
be taught to whistle an air. In 
short, the voice of all varieties of 
the feathered kind is perfectly imi¬ 
tated by this wondrous musician. 
The nest of the mocking bird 
is generally built in hedges or thorn 
bushes, of weeds, sticks, straws and 
grass, and lined with fine fibrous 
roots, in which usually four eggs 
are laid. The bird is very coura¬ 
geous in defence of its nest and 
young, and has been known to 
assail, with fatal effect, large black 
snakes that attempted to devour 
the brood. Occasionally two broods 
are hatched in one year, those of 
the first, however, being much 
larger. 
The Baltimore Oriole (Orio- 
lus baltimore ), (so called from the 
orange and black of its plumage, 
those being the heraldic colors of 
Lord Baltimore), is also peculiar to 
the United States, distributed as 
far north as Minnesota, though 
appearing only in the summer sea¬ 
son. As soon as the warm airs . 
of April begin to start the verdure the orioles come northward m pairs and 
begin at once preparations for rearing a brood. The nesting habits of this bird 
are particularly interesting, as its soft warbling notes are charming. In the 
far south the nest is made penduline of Spanish moss, so loosely woven as to per¬ 
mit the air to circulate freely through it. In the Northern States, it is hung upon 
the extremities of widespreading branches, invariably at high altitudes, and 
where it has perfect exposure to the sun. In weaving its nest tho. oriole ties 
the materials that compose it to the branch, dexterously using its bill and feet 
NEST OF THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 
