for if the house be empty of inmates, the wrens make quick work of pulling out 

 such straws and nesting material as have been gathered. 



It may be that a cold snap will come up in a driving hurry after the nesting 

 is well under way. In this event the birds will disappear, probably to the deep, 

 warm woods, or the shelter of holloav trees, until the storm be past, when they 

 will come again and take up the work where they left off. 



This sudden going and coming on account of the weather has always been a 

 mystery to those who study the bluebirds. Some imagine they have a castle 

 somewhere in the thickest of the woods, where they hide, making meals on insects 

 that love old, damp trees. Caves and rock chambers have been explored in search 

 of the winter bluebirds, but not a bird was found in either place. They keep their 

 own secrets, whether they fly far off to a warmer spot, or whether they hide in 

 cell or castle. 



[f the work is not anticipated by human friends, and the nesting-places 

 cleaned out in advance of the birds, they will tidy up the boxes themselves, both 

 birds working at it. What do they want of last year's litter with its invisible 

 little mites and things that wait for a genial warmth to hatch out? House-cleaning 

 is a necessity with the bluebirds. When the nest is done it is neat and compact, 

 composed of sticks and straws with a softer lining. The birds accept what is 

 ready to hand, making no long search for material. Being neighbor to man and 

 our habitations, it uses stable litter. 



The three to six pale blue eggs contrast but slightly with the mother's breast. 

 The little ones grow in a hurry, for well it is known that more broods must be 

 attended to before summer is over. Sometimes the nest is placed at the bottom 

 of a box or passageway, and the young birds have difficulty in making their way 

 to freedom. The old birds in such a case are said to pile sticks up to the door, 

 and the little ones walk up and out as if on a ladder ! 



The mother soon takes to preparing for another brood, and the father 

 assumes all the care of the young just out, leading them a short distance from 

 the mother, and teaching them to hunt insects and berries. The little ones are 

 not blue, as any one may see, but brown with speckled breasts. These speckled 

 breasts of young birds are fashionable costumes for many other than bluebirds. 

 They remind one of infantile bibs, to be discarded as soon as the young things 

 eat and behave like their elders. 



The bluebirds are good neighbors, never quarreling nor troubling other birds. 

 In the late fall his note changes to a plaintive one, as if he were mourning for 

 the dear, delightful days of summer-time and nursery joys. It is now that he, 

 with his large family, may be seen on weed stalks in the open country, looking 

 for belated insects and searching for beetles and spiders among the stones. 



In darting for winged insects the bluebird does not take a sudden flight, but 

 sways leisurely, as if he would not frighten his treasure by quick movements. 



The bluebirds are the morning-glories of our country. They are companions 

 of the violet of spring and the asters in autumn. They belong to the blue sky 

 and the country home and the city suburbs. 



429 



