THE OREGON 



forth its delightful song. It is oiten 

 called the Mocking Wren, for it is a 

 great singer, singing at all times of 

 the year. They are seen in pairs as 

 early as Jannary 20.' 



Nests are placed under the bark of 

 old logs and stumps, and I have found 

 two pairs nesting in old vacant 

 houses, one of these nests was in the 

 folds of an old rag carpet which was 

 hanging up in the house. I also col- 

 lected one set of six eggs from a nest 

 in a hole in a bank, the nest was 

 about 15 inches back in the hole, and 

 there were roots hanging over in front 

 of it. I found this nest by observing 

 the bird carry the building material. 

 The commonest place for them to nest 

 is among the roots of upturned trees. 

 The last week in April is the best 

 time to collect sets of eggs. The eggs 

 are five or six in number, white 

 specked with chestnut brown, mostly 

 around the larger end, sometimes in a 

 wreath . 



Parkmans Wren is a very common 

 Summer resident here arriving about 

 the second week April. They begin 

 nest building a few da>s after arriv- 

 ing. This Wren is also quite a song- 

 ster, and is much bolder than the two 

 preceeding species. 



They usually nest in and around 

 houses. Nests are placed in all sorts 

 of places, such as hollow trees, logs, 

 limbs and roots, bird boxes and old 

 woodpecker excavations, and under 

 the bark of fence rails, where the bark 

 is partly loose. They like very much 

 to find some nook or corner under a 

 porch or roof or better still just over a 

 doorway. They are quite overbearing 

 when they arrive here. The Blue 



NATURALIST. 



49 



Birds often have their nests nearly 

 completed, and I have several times 

 .seen the Wrens drive them from such 

 nests and take possession thereof. 

 The above trick is not on account of 

 any laziness on the part of the Wrens, 

 for they will tear out all of the Blue 

 Birds' nest and build one of their 

 own. 



Parknian's Wren is a great friend 

 to horticulturists and beekeepers, for 

 they destro}^ many hundreds of insects 

 each day which would do much dam- 

 age to the bees and orchards. I have 

 often watched them of early morning 

 in front of bee hives, catching moths 

 and their larvae before the bees were 

 astir. 



The}' lay five to nine eggs, general- 

 ly seven, but I have seen sets of five 

 and also of nine eggs. Eggs are 

 white dotted with reddish brown quite 

 thickly over the entire surface. I 

 have one set that has a pinkish tinge. 

 Two broods are raised in a season, 

 Ellis F. Hadlev. 



Dayton, Oregon. 



It has been frequently said and gen- 

 erally believed that the Denny Pheas- 

 ant is gradually supplanting the Oie- 

 gon Ruffled Grouse, but the Portland 

 markets display for sale this .season 

 more Ruffled Grouse and less pheas- 

 ants than in previous years. Sooty 

 grouse are rarely seen in the markets 

 where formerly they were plentiful. 



It is not general!}' known that 

 rats cannot resist sunflower .^eeds. A 

 trap baited with these .^eeds is the 

 most effective method of catching 

 them. 



