ORNITHOLOGY 



147 



A BROWN THRASHER'S NEST. 



tivorous, except for a few wild fruits 

 taken by the adult birds. A very good 

 way to attract them in winter is to 

 plant Virginia creeper, or, better still, 

 a common imported vine known as 

 Ampelopsis veitchii. This latter grows 

 luxuriantly on various buildings of the 

 estate, and its abundant, persistent ber- 

 ries form a great attraction to hermit 

 thrushes in the autumn, and to blue- 

 birds and robins throughout the winter. 

 Until this year no wrens have nested 

 on the farm. Last May a pair decided 

 to occupy one of the orchard boxes. 

 They carried in a large amount of 

 twigs and white fibrous substance 

 from cocoons, but before any eggs were 

 laid a pair of bluebirds appeared on the 

 scene and dispossessed their smaller 

 neighbors. The wrens were not dis- 

 couraged, however, and raised a lusty 

 family in another nesting place. 



Birds usually return to nest in the 

 same vicinity where they were hatched. 

 Next year, with a greatly increased 



number of nest-boxes, we shall have 

 at least twenty pairs of bluebirds, a 

 dozen pairs of starlings, and several 

 pairs of chickadees and wrens domi- 

 ciled on the estate. 



The experiment has proved a suc- 

 cess, and might profitably be repeated 

 on other farms. 



The Food of the Barn Owl. 



BY THOMAS II. JACKSON, WEST CHESTER,. 

 PENNSYTA'ANIA. 



Most of our birds of prey, while gener- 

 ally feeding on animals injurious to man's 

 interests, do not always discriminate. 

 Even the little screech owl, that has been 1 

 held up as model of innocence, is accused 

 of killing and eating young robins, and 

 has, therefore, been outlawed in the 

 neighborhood where the crime has occur- 

 red. But I believe that no such charge 

 has been laid at the door of the barn owl. 



Recently I visited a large black oak tree 

 that stands alone on a hillside, and has 

 for many years furnished a secure home 

 for a pair of barn owls, that annually 

 raise a brood of young in its cavity 

 sixty or more feet from the ground. 



SKULLS OF MEADOW MICE. 



