ORNITHOLOGY 



21 I 



spring, he firmly implanted his small 

 sharp claws in my wrist. 



The bones of the maimed wing were 

 badly shattered and bore unmistakable 

 evidence of the work of some cruel or 

 thoughtless hunter. Without further 

 show of hostility, he allowed me to ex- 

 amine his wound, place the injured 

 member in the most comfortable posi- 

 tion and wrap him cosily in the robes at 

 my feet, where he made no attempt to 

 free himself, but fixed upon me an 

 unwinking stare for the remainder of 

 the distance home. 



I gave the owl his freedom in the 

 kitchen where he found refuge under 

 a chair, from which stronghold he bade 

 defiance to all further overtures of 

 friendship, until some pieces of fresh 

 meat were offered him. He pounced 

 upon them as though they were living 

 things and devoured them ravenously. 

 I supposed this was owing to extreme 

 hunger but soon learned that it was his 

 habitual manner of receiving meat. 



In time his hostility wore off and 

 when the door of his cage was opened 

 he would come out and walk about the 

 room, examining each article with a 

 show of profound wisdom, but never 

 failing to note the slightest movement 

 of each person near him. He never be- 

 came quite tame but soon learned to 

 know each member of the household, 

 for while he leceived our caresses with 

 stolid indifference, he never failed to 

 utter screams of defiance when ap- 

 proached by a stranger. 



Mice, his favorite food, were swal- 

 lowed head foremost and he would 

 often rest for several minutes with one 

 partly down, until with renewed 

 strength, he proceeded with his strange 

 meal and stranger method of taking it. 

 When I first saw him swallowing a 

 mouse thus, supposing him to be suf- 

 fering from strangulation, I seized the 

 mouse by the tail and drew him from 

 the bird's throat. With a scream of 

 rage he pounced upon my offending 

 hand. 



When after a most successful mouse 

 hunt we gave him more than he re- 

 quired for one meal, he would eat the 

 head from each remaining member, and 

 stacking them with tails pointing in 



one direction, perch immovable upon 

 the pile. Thus he would sit for hours 

 as though he were a specimen in a tax- 

 idermist's collection, but if his cage 

 were approached he instantly became 

 alert and warlike and even his most 

 trusted keeper dare not touch him 

 while he guarded this precious store. 

 lie died late in the summer follow- 

 ing his capture, without apparent 

 cause, and thus ended the career of one 

 of the strangest and most interesting 

 pets I ever knew. 



Our Wrens. 



BY NELLIE B. PENDERGAST, DULUTH. 

 MINN. 



Some time ago I invested in some Ten- 

 Cent Store millinery — a rather deep- 

 crowned straw hat. Took it home, 

 made a small hole in the side, fastened 

 a strip of thin wood underneath for a 

 front porch, and nailed the hat, wrong 

 side up, to the ceiling of the front 

 piazza, in a corner. The w r rens soon 

 discovered it, inspected it carefully, 

 and moved in with evident satisfaction. 



But an English sparrow also found 

 the hat, and as the hole (which I had 

 inadvertentlv cut a trifle larger than 

 was necessary) was just big enough 

 for him to squeeze carefully in, he 

 evicted the poor little wrens and took 

 possession. 



Yours truly to the rescue. Fastened 

 a piece of stiff, heavy paste-board, with 

 a smaller hole, over the orioinal door- 

 way. Discomforted sparrow; the 

 wrens triumphantly moved back again, 

 and little Airs. Wren building away 

 busily. I sat out on the porch what 

 time I could snare (this was on Sun- 

 day) and then Mother took my place, 

 as when we were there the SDarrow 

 dared not come near, but if left alone 

 he would drive the wrens away and sit 

 scolding on the perch, even though he 

 could not get in. 



And here comes the beautiful part 

 ol it. Those dear little wrens seemed 

 to understand what I had done and 

 why I did it, and were grateful. When 

 Mother was keeping watch, little Mrs. 

 Wren deliberately flew down and sat 

 on her Ian for a moment, while Mother 

 talked to her. There was neither food 



