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Bird - Lore 



birds after the nest was built until the 

 early evening of July 24. Then I noticed 

 that there were at least three, good-sized 

 young in the nest, though the high edge of 

 the Oriole's nest made it difhcult to see 

 the contents well. I also detected some 

 kind of a commotion about the nest, in 

 which an English Sparrow was undoubtedly 

 concerned. 



The next afternoon trouble in the apple- 

 tree was still present in the form of the 

 English Sparrow. I watched with field- 

 glasses from the porch about twenty-five 

 feet away and on the lawn under the tree 

 for the greater part of the afternoon. I 

 do not attempt to explain my observations, 

 but the following is what I saw: 



On the edge of the nest was a female 

 English Sparrow making vicious stabs at a 

 Chipping Sparrow that was trying to go to 

 the nest with a worm. Six or seven times 

 (I did not think to begin to count at first), 

 did that Chippy make the attempt before 

 it succeeded. Almost constantly the 

 intruding Sparrow continued on the watch. 

 Sometimes she would sit motionless on the 

 edge of the nest only moving her head to 

 watch the Chipping Sparrows when they 

 approached, and then peck at them when 

 they were within reaching distance. At 

 other times she would perch in the branches 

 and dash to the attack when the parents 

 came with food. No male English Sparrow 

 came near. Also I several times saw her 

 drive away another female English Spar- 

 row as fiercely as she did the Chipping 

 Sparrow. Once I saw her snatch a sizable 

 green worm from the beak of a parent 

 Chippy and fly away with it. Frequently 

 she came to the nest and went through the 

 motions of feeding the young herself, but 

 1 could not see that she had anything in 

 her beak. Several times she did this im- 

 mediately after a Chipping Sparrow had 

 fed, and, although I could not prove it, 

 because her motions were so rapid, it 

 looked to me as though she snatched some- 

 thing from a young bird's beak. The parent 

 birds did manage to feed the young occa- 

 sionally by working quickly. A little later 

 I distinctly saw the English Sparrow 

 remove excreta from the nest and carry 



it away. She continued at intervals her 

 apparent process of feeding the young, and 

 once I saw her gis'e one a worm. Occa- 

 sionally she left the tree and went hunting 

 down in the grass, usually going through 

 the feeding process upon her return. 



What could have been the reason for 

 such exceptional conduct? One might say 

 that by some chance the English Sparrow 

 also had young in the nest, but all the 

 young I saw were decidedly Chipping 

 Sparrows, and called like them. 



The next day I was unable to make 

 observations, and in another day all the 

 young had left the nest. — M.A.BEL R. 

 Wiggins, East Marion, L. I., N. Y. 



A Catbird Foundation 



While looking after my bird nests last 

 May I discovered that the Catbirds had 

 built their nest in the lilac bushes and by 

 June 10 four young ones had left the nest. 

 :\ pair of Robins looking for a nesting-site 

 for their second brood, now built a second 

 story to the deserted nest and by July i 

 they had four eggs which, in due time 

 hatched and the brood was reared in 

 safety. — R. J. Middleton, Jejffersonville, 

 Pa. 



Mockingbird Winters in Iowa 



On December 15, 1920, at noon, I was 

 surprised by a visit from a strange bird. 

 The feeding-shelf is just outside the 

 kitchen window and while we noted the 

 bird's markings it very leisurely inspected 

 all' the arrangements and foods displayed, 

 ate of sunflower and wild rose seeds, and 

 finally, after five or ten minutes, flew away. 



On the i6th I saw it four times, twice on 

 the shelf. On the i8th it visited the shelf 

 and on the 19th was in the yard. 



I find in 'Birds of Ohio,' p. 196, that 

 "C. H. Morris, on Jan. 25, 1903, in 

 company with E. J. Arrick, found and 

 captured a Mockingbird near McConnells- 

 viile, Ohio." Also, Blanchan, in 'Bird 

 Xeighbors,' p. 82, records that "even in 

 midwinter the Mockingbird is not unknown 

 in Central Park, New York City." 



With this evidence added to my own 



