Outdoor Visits  by Edith M. Patch

Helping Mother Oriole

Mother Oriole wove her nest on a branch of an elm tree in the park. It was almost June before the nest was all ready for her eggs.

Father and Mother Oriole came to the park in May. They came from a place far away in the South.

Father Oriole came first. He sat on a high branch and sang.

When Mother Oriole came she heard the song. So she went near the tree where Father Oriole sat. They were glad to see each other.

Father Oriole was bright orange and black. There were some white feathers on his wings.

Mother Oriole had brown and gray and black feathers on her head and back. Most of her under feathers were a dull orange color.

Don and Nan heard the oriole in the park.

Mr. Gray told them, "Father Oriole whistles while Mother Oriole makes the nest. It hangs from a branch."

"How does she make a hanging kind of nest?" asked Nan.

"She weaves it with fibers," said Mr. Gray. "She hunts for strong stems of old brown grass. She takes fibers from stems of milkweeds and some other plants. If she finds a short string she is very happy.

"A long string is not good for her to use. If it is too long it may be caught around her neck or legs."

"I have some string," said Don.

Mr. Gray cut Don's string into pieces ten or twelve inches long.

Nan put them on bushes near the elm tree.

Mother Oriole found the string and wove it into her nest.

After Mother Oriole wove her nest, she put a soft bed in it and laid her eggs.

When the young birds hatched they called for food. Then Father Oriole had no time to sit and sing. He helped Mother Oriole hunt for caterpillars for the baby birds.

In September all these Orioles started South. They had a long way to go to their winter home.

After the leaves fell from the elm tree, Don and Nan could see the hanging nest.

Nan said, "We helped Mother Oriole when she made that nest. We gave her short string for fibers."