busy mate. Having placed her twig in a beginning nest, — 
back she went to the hemlock tree, and back he followed her — 
to his upper perch. Again she struggled with a twig, jerk- 
ing and flapping, this way and that, until she succeeded in i 
getting another addition to the nest to which she quickly — 
returned. Once more her brilliant adorer flew to his point 
of observation, where he watched her settle this eels. in = 
: place. q 
Seven times she backs off branchlets aaa seven times | : 
her work was inspected by her lazy, handsome ogi but @ 
- not once did he try his bill on a twig. 4 
As this section is being written on the last day of May, 4 
his “air-ic, pret-ty, pret-ty’’ mingled with the shrill whistle ‘ 
of the flycatcher and the soft calls of the thrush can be © 
heard, and the wonder arises if once more he is coaxing some ~ 
lady bird to build a nest for him. He is a better husband — 
than a lover, though, for while she broods the eggs, he will ) 
fly from one high place to another until he finds a bite she — 
might like, then he will stealthily give it to Saud ee 7 
- near, making soft remarks as she eats. a 
- In San Diego an orange, black, and white Se some- — 
times made a beholder catch her breath at the brilliancy — 
of plumage when this bird has been seen dancing about after — 
insects in the fig trees, or swaying on the fan of a palm. 
This same gay vision, the Bullock Oriole may be found in © 
valley orchards, or in the groves that fringe the streams — 
as far as the Columbia River on both sides of the divide, and — 
beyond the river as far north as British Columbia on the | 
eastern slopes of the Cascades. Wherever he cares to dis- — 
_ play his charms the sight of them, in most persons, will send — 
the blood a little faster on its course, although this has not 
yet happened in western Washington, for he visits not that 4 
section. | 
Like the eastern Baltimore Oriole, or Hang Bird, which | 
is so much beloved, this species makes an open-topped 
basket for its nest. The first attempt of young birds, which 
