98 Birds of Lakeside and Prairie 



the pillar of the porch, in the lilac bush of the garden, or in 

 the maple at the doorstep, it invites destruction for itself and 

 young at the claws of the family cat, a creature which, unfortu- 

 nately, few households are without. The very openness of 

 the nesting sites chosen makes of the eggs or of the young a 

 temptation to the badly trained boy, who nine times out of 

 ten finds himself unable to resist. As a deduction from obser- 

 vations that have extended through many nesting seasons, I 

 don't hesitate to say that I think the part of wisdom belongs 

 to the bird who builds in the wilds and gives man, cats, and 

 boys a wide berth. 



It is curious thing that, all things being apparently equal, 

 some of the birds that nest in the haunts of men have much bet- 

 ter success with their families than have others. The bluejay, 

 one of the characteristic birds of the Middle West, is handi- 

 capped in his struggle for existence by his brilliant plumage. 

 Notwithstanding this, the jay abounds and will continue to 

 abound unless his traits of character undergo a radical change. 

 A jay, building in an evergreen on one side of a doorstep, 

 will be rejoicing in five healthy offspring able to fly and to 

 care for themselves, while the robin, building in the maple on 

 the other side of the doorstep, is bewailing the disappearance 

 of its last fledgeling into the mouth of a cat. Accidents to 

 jays' nests are rare. It builds as strong a structure as does 

 the robin, and as a rule, Madame Jay insists that the young 

 jays shall stay in the nest until their wings are strong and 

 fully feathered. Robins have not the same excellent control 

 over their babies. The young robin, like the young crow of 

 the children's story, gets restless and wants to see the world 

 at a time when the only journey it can make is a high and 

 lofty tumble from the nest to the ground. You may pick up 



