ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, WITH EXAMPLES 251 



Now let us go back to the male wren's performances and the 

 full realization of the meaning of his actions will be at once 

 understood. Here, indeed, I had witnessed a pathetic state of 

 affairs. He probably had been thrown into a condition of 

 dismay by his mate's absence, but did he know the cause of her 

 disappearance ? He must have seen the mouse in his home and 

 must have had a suspicion of what had happened. He appealed 

 to her with his song, coming near the doorway of the little house 

 where he had last seen her enter. Then again he brought such 

 means to his aid as would attract her attention, but alas, without 

 avail. In a few minutes the male again made his appearance. 

 This time he made a short stay in the old locality, surveying 

 it hurriedly. I next saw him flying to a distant tree. Without 

 ado, he started in most industriously to pick out the decayed 

 pulp at the top of a broken-off tree. Did he do this from 

 nerv^ous excitement, or was he starting in housekeeping anew .'* 



The narration of these observations would not be complete 

 unless I mentioned that the white-footed mouse was observed 

 in her roomy cage the next morning lapping a little red object. 

 Close examination revealed the fact that it was a new-born 

 baby mouse. The mother tried soon afterwards to hide it 

 under her body in an attempt to conceal it from my scrutiny. 

 But I relieved her anxiety at once by supplying some wool, 

 which she quickly used in making a cozy nest. Afterwards, 

 in succession, one hour apart, six young mice were born. Many 

 hours afterwards were spent in observing the attentive mother 

 rear her pretty little family. The final question may be raised : 

 Did the mouse accidentally stray into the wren's nest to give 

 birth to her coming progeny ? Or, are we to interpret the 

 tragedy in the wren household to the wilful plot of the mouse 

 to attack and eat the wren ? The most we can do is to give 

 the facts for the kindly consideration of our readers.^ 



* Since these lines were in type I am informed by C. F. Castle that he 

 had two wren boxes on his premises having holes only three-quarters of an 

 inch in diameter or just large enough for the wrens to enter. Two pairs of 

 wrens established their homes in these boxes, but both pairs soon afterwards 

 suddenly disappeared. On investigation of the interior of the boxes he found 

 in one the nest of a white-footed mouse, in the other the remains of a dead 

 wren, showing unmistakable evidence that the wren had been killed by one 

 of these mice, probably at night. 



