257 



ly betray the hiding place of the one spot most dear to them. 

 Downy took upon himself the task of driving away the un- 

 welcome neighbors. His persistence was commendable but 

 the lack of good generalship on his part, rendered his ef- 

 forts futile. Instead of devoting his energies to preventing 

 the building of their nest, he chased the male bird every 

 time it started to sing. The little wren seemed to regard 

 this as a sort of bird-play and, apparently, greatly enjoyed 



Fig. 219. The adult female (on the left) about to feed one ot 

 the young. 



it; with just a short break in his song he kept dodging and 

 flying back and forth singing louder and louder as the 

 chase grew warmer. 



Meanwhile the female wren was just as busy as she could 

 be, carrying in small twigs, grasses and feathers ; she was 

 so very industrious that the nest was wholly completed the 

 flrst day. 



Angry "chucks" proceeding from under the fallen trunk 

 soon attracted attention to another tenant in this woodland 

 apartment. A hole in the ground at the base of the stump 

 showed where a Chipmunk had taken refuge and his sharp, 

 muffled voice showed that he did not approve of 



II 



