go 



Bird- Lore 



other birds' eggs and eat them. He 

 pierces them with his sharp little bill 

 and throws them out of the nest. 



My direct knowledge of this fact comes 

 from his treatment of the Chipping Spar- 

 row. I have seen the Wren throw the 

 eggs of the latter out of the nest. My 

 Wren-box is nailed against the lattice at 

 the west end of a back piazza, where 

 this lattice meets the side of the house. 

 The place is really more a covered walk 

 than a piazza, having on its outer side a 

 long trellis covered with the wild ampe- 

 lopsis. The Chipping Sparrows have 

 taken this as a favorite building place, 

 sometimes two pairs of them having their 

 nests there at the same time. But 

 whether these confiding 'chippies' 

 build nearby to the brown spit-fire or 

 farther away — even twenty feet off — 

 he or she will not suffer them to go 

 unmolested. 



The Wrens have also taken the eggs 

 from the nest of a Chipping Sparrow 

 which built quite on the opposite side 

 of the house. 



Besides this direct evidence, I have 

 also other which is circumstantial, but 

 such circumstantial evidence as the bird- 

 lover learns to put a high value upon. 

 It is this : My Bluebirds chase the 

 Wren, — crying, "stop thief, stop thief!" 

 whenever they see him in the open. So 

 also does my Baltimore Oriole, who re- 

 turns to his elm on my premises every 

 year. That the Robins do not chase the 

 Grackles without reason we know and 

 they know, to our mutual sorrow. I fear 

 that the inference must stand in the 

 case of these other birds and the House 

 Wren. It is becoming a serious issue 

 with me just what to do. I love the 

 rollicking song of my fidgety Wrens. But 

 I love, also, the quiet, patient Sfizella 

 socialis, even if she does seem to be 

 lacking in gumption as to the locating 

 of her nest, and even if one does feel 

 occasionally, as he does with some une- 

 motional people, as if he would like to 

 stick a pin point into her and wake her up. 



My Bluebirds also left me last summer, 

 the first time in four years. I have a 



strong suspicion that the small marauder 

 of this paper had something to do with 

 their failure to return, and the question 

 is whether I shall be compelled to take 

 down my Wren-box. — John Hutchins, 

 Litchfield, Conti. 



A New Camera for Bird Photographers 



Bird photographers will be interested 

 to learn that essentially the same type 

 of camera described by Mr. Rowley, in 

 Bird-Lore for April, has been placed on 

 the market by the Reflex Camera Com- 

 pany, of Yonkers, N. Y. 



The Bird Protection Fund 



Since the report of the Treasurer of 

 this fund, in Bird-Lore for April, addi- 

 tional subscriptions have been received, 

 and the fund now amounts to $1,300. 



Every colony of Gulls and Terns that 

 has been found from Virginia to Maine 

 has been provided with a protector, and 

 will receive all the protection that the 

 laws of the various states in which they 

 are located afford them. For one large 

 colony of Herring Gulls and Terns in 

 Maine, a warden has been employed who 

 devotes his entire time to the work. At 

 all the other colonies, only so much of the 

 warden's time is engaged as will afford 

 the necessary protection. 



There is every reason to believe that 

 all of the Gulls and Terns that breed 

 between Virginia and Maine will, this 

 year, be permitted to raise their young 

 without being disturbed. 



It is purposed that all of the breeding 

 colonies shall be visited at the height of 

 the breeding season by some member of 

 the American Ornithologists' Union, who 

 will inspect the work done by the pro- 

 tectors, and note the condition of the 

 colonies — William Dutcher, 545 Mati- 

 hattan ai'enue, lYezv York City. 



Arbor and Bird Day Proclamation 

 The Governor of the State of Wiscon- 

 sin has issued an elaborately printed 

 Arbor and Bird Day proclamation well 

 calculated to attract attention to the 

 importance of the occasion which it 

 announces. 



