286 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



branch then, after cleaning their beak, 

 would fly in a straight line from it. 



It was of much interest to watch the 

 methods employed by the old birds in 

 cleaning" the nest. As soon as an excre- 

 ment appeared in the nest it would be re- 

 moved by the next bird which came to 

 the nest. After feeding the young the 

 parent would pick up the excrement and 

 fly some distance with it before dislodg- 

 ing it from its mandibles. If there was 

 more than one excrement in the nest the 

 old bird would calmly swallow one and 

 fly off with the other. 



Bv July second the young birds com- 

 menced to show signs of dissatisfaction 

 when I approached the nest. On the 

 morning of the third, one jumped out of 

 the nest and, although I replaced it time 

 and again, once it had tasted nature's 

 freedom the old home had attraction no 

 more for the restless young vireo. Next 

 morning, July 4, another was gone. 

 This one was soon followed on the morn- 

 ing of the fifth bv the last one of the 

 brood. Here ended my happy two weeks 

 with the vireos and as I almost daily pass 

 the old and dilapidated nest, pleasant 

 recollections never fail to enter my mind. 



STUDIES OF THE GREY SQUIRRELS. 



BY JOHN S. FERNAUD, BELFAST, ME. 



Several of the cities and villages of 

 Maine have colonies of what may be 

 termed semi-domesticated pets, the 

 grey squirrels of the near-by wood-lots 



having moved in and made themselves 

 homes among the trees of the streets. 

 In the summer of 1902 such a colony 

 emigrated to Belfast, and the descend- 

 ants of the original families still abide 

 in peace and contentment. The people 

 generally received them kindle from 

 the first, and even the mischievous 

 small boy soon changed from throwing 

 stones and shooting with air guns to 

 carrying supplies of peanuts and acorns 

 for feeding the little visitors. The 

 squirrels soon became very tame and 

 would run to and climb upon the cloth- 

 ing of any person showing a friend- 

 ly disposition. At many houses the 

 squirrels became dailv visitors, often 

 going into the various rooms in search 

 of their human friends. 



But cats and dogs have not yet 

 learned to regard the squirrels as other 

 than their legitimate prey, and in avoid- 

 ing the attacks of these enemies the 

 little fellows often show remarkable 

 traits. The first pair that came to my 

 house were soon marked by the cats 

 of the neighborhood, and when the 

 usual hour for their morning visit ar- 

 rived the place was blockaded by a cor- 

 don of felines. One morning my 

 squirrel visitors failed to appear, but 

 the next day, as I was working at my 

 desk, they both came in through the 

 dining room, which was located just in 

 the rear of my study. They had run 

 the blockade of cats in front of the 



KODAK STUDIES OF GREY SQUIRRELS. 



