All communications for this department 

 should be sent to the Department Editor, 

 Mr. Harry G. Higbee, 13 Austin Street, 

 Hyde Park, Massachusetts. Items, articles 

 and photographs in this department not 

 otherwise credited are by the Department 

 Editor. 



An Enterprising Robin. 



BY IRMA B. ARMSTRONG, RIVER FALLS, 

 WISCONSIN. 



Much has been written about the 

 various phases of bird life but the fol- 

 lowing incident may be of interest. It 

 occurred in a little town in Sa^:katche- 

 wan where 1 was visiting. There, as in 

 most other young western settlements, 

 trees are scarce. The few birds which 

 find their way to the place frequently 



THE ROBIN AND HER NEST IN THE CHURCH. 



have difficulty in securing suitable nest- 

 ing sites. 



One spring Sunday, when the janitor 

 of the little stone church closed it for 

 the week, he accidentally left one of the 

 windows open for a few inches at the 

 top. Not long after an enterprising 

 robin in search of a good location for 

 her nest espied this opening and inves- 



tigated. On the following Sunday the 

 congregation saw on the ledge at the 

 top of one of the pillars behind the pul- 

 pit a regulation robin's nest, built ac- 

 cording to all the plans and specifica- 

 tions of robin's nest architecture and 

 ready for occupancy. Not only was the 

 nest allowed to remain but the window 

 was left open so that the happy pair 

 continued their home making undis- 

 turbed. 



When the time came for the mother 

 to devote herself to the care of the 

 eggs, the church services did not drive 

 her from her post of duty, but she re- 

 mained quietly on the nest. Occasion- 

 ally during the service her mate 

 brought her some dainty morsel of 

 food. 



Interest in this portion of the Sun- 

 day services increased with the arrival 

 of the young birds ; the busy parents 

 flying in and out with food, and the 

 calls of the hungry little ones, were a 

 considerable test for both minister and 

 congregation. 



Mocking Birds in Connecticut. 



West Haven, Connecticut. 

 To the Editor : 



It may interest you to know that I 

 have enjoyed the unusual pleasure of 

 seeing a mocking bird in my yard near- 

 ly every day since October. He alights 

 softly as thistledown, apparently, up- 

 on my bitter-sweet vines, eats two or 

 three berries, and flies away. In the 

 autumn he ran about with tail raised 

 and wings drooping. The only sounds 

 I have heard from him resemble those 

 of the English sparrow. It was some 

 time before I could ascertain his iden- 

 tity, but the Reverend Mr. Job and 

 Mr. Nelson Willmot, both of whom are 

 well informed on the subject, say he is 

 a iTiocking bird. A pair, I am told, 

 nested in Greenfield last year. This 

 may be one of the young. 



Sincerely yours, 

 Mrs. CharlKS H. Lyman. 



