THE BIRDS OF THE ABIRONDACKS. 41 



nest begins. The robin lays four eggs, and frequently raises three 

 broods of young in a season, never, so far as I know, using the 

 same site or the same nest twice in one season, or more certainly 

 never using the same nest or site for two consecutive broods. Year 

 after year the same corner in the porch or the same crotch in 

 the apple tree will be used as a nesting place by the robin, and we 

 have all wondered if the same robins came back every year, or if 

 the young birds returned and used the nest in which they were 

 hatched. The birds look and act wonderfully familiar when the 

 old site is occupied, and many people are sure they remember the 

 birds from the year preceding. I have never seen a statement 

 from any ornithologist throwing light on this interesting question, 

 and I twice made an attempt, without success, to obtain the infor- 

 mation for myself. 



All thrushes except the robin are mottled on the breast, and 

 the breast of the young robin is mottled for the first season, so the 

 young can be readily told from the old birds. The robin is a 

 great lover of angleworms. The young follow the mother while 

 she gathers worms to feed them, and about the time for weaning 

 the young birds I have frequently seen the mother bird pick up 

 straws and sticks and offer them to her young instead of food. 

 This may be done to discourage them from following her any 

 longer, but I think it is more probably caused by a return of the 

 nest-building instinct to the mother. 



Some years ago I put a small bird box on a post in our yard, 

 which was soon occupied by a pair of summer wrens, and all went 

 nicely with them until a pair of English sparrows concluded to 

 drive the wrens away and take the house for themselves, and for 

 three or four days the wrens and sparrows were constantly fighting, 

 but the wrens finally won and held possession of the house, although 

 at a great sacrifice, for after the fight was over I raised the lid 

 of the box and found the young birds dead, the fight evidently 

 taking so much of the time and attention of the old birds that they 

 allowed their young to starve. I removed the dead birds, and in 

 a short time the wrens rebuilt the nest, and this time they closed 

 the hole for entrance until it was scarcely large enough to admit 

 my thumb. 



The box was occupied by wrens for several years, but the en- 

 trance was never closed afterward, and I kept the sparrows from 

 any further interference. In this connection I would say that, 

 at least so far as the English sparrow is concerned, the male selects 

 the site for the nest. When I shot the female the male soon re- 

 turned with another mate, but when I shot the male the female 

 did not return. The wren builds a very coarse nest, and fills the 



