HOW A BIRD GOES TO BED. 159 
Under the edges of hay and fodder stacks, in 
dense cedars or other evergreen trees, in the midst 
of dense dead leaves still clinging to their branches, 
at tangling intersections of bare vines and in any place 
where there is the combination of concealment and 
the scantiest protection from wind or rain, you may 
expect to find a little feathered sleeper. Sometimes 
these places are used only once, and again they may 
be resorted to for a few successive nights or for all 
winter. It may be noticed that if you simply scare 
the bird away from his couch in passing, he will re- 
sume it when you are gone. 
Of course, some birds, as rooks, crows, many sea 
birds and others, have definite rookeries, used for long 
periods. Even our blackbirds show their kinship 
crowwards by their selection in late summer of a 
constant location for sleeping. But many others 
lodge—tramplike—wherever night overtakes them. 
This is necessarily the case while migrating, when 
birds stop at night. 
Birds go to bed in various ways, and even in the 
same tree select different locations on different nights. 
Thus, turkeys seem to deliberate a long time about 
flying up, and blackbirds sit around and seem to quar- 
rel a long time about favorite berths, but a house wren 
jumps into a tree crotch like a boy into a cold couch, has 
his head under his wing, and is asleep in ten seconds. 
Quails and grouses sometimes walk to their couch 
and sometimes fly to the region of it with a low, soft, 
noiseless flight, that their enemies may not hear them 
or be able to trail them. 
