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the bottom, stuffed in a piece of newspaper, nailed another little 
board over the top, placed a cross piece projecting about three 
inches on each side for a perch, and fastened the device securely 
on the top of a grape arbor about fifty feet from my house. The 
device when finished was four inches square, fifteen inches high, 
with two, opposite, three inch openings just under the roof, and 
having about two inches of newspaper in the bottom. 
I did not expect tenants this year; but I was happily disap- 
pointed. On the afternoon of April 26th a pair of beautiful blue 
birds made a brief, informal call. Saturday, the 27th, while I 
was working in my garden, they were in and out all day, though 
I did not see them carrying material for a nest. The following 
week I was away in the North Woods. On my return home, my 
first inquiry was about the blue birds. The report was that they 
had not been seen, and I reached the conclusion that the house 
did not suit. I kept a close and quite watch, however, and soon 
learned that they were still making frequent visits. By the 12th 
of May, I felt quite sure that the female was sitting. She would 
remain in the nest for several hours at a time and then leave it 
for only a few minutes. During this time the male bird was 
usually perched on some high point, sometimes on the telephone 
wire, overlooking the nest. When the female would come out, 
he would hop up and down on his perch and flap his wings like a 
little rooster, then he would dart down and peer into the nest. 
He did not sing in the vicinity of the nest during the time his 
mate was sitting. 
By May 23rd, it was evident from the increased activity of 
the pair, that a brood had been hatched. The female was visit- 
ing the nest about fifteen times an hour. The male less frequently. 
He rarely entered the nest except when the female was present. 
On May 25th, between 3 o’clock and 3.30, the female made seven 
visits and both made three visits, a total of thirteen in half an 
hour. I soon learned that the business of the male bird is to carry 
refuse out of the nest, while the female does the feeding. 
It is a curious fact that the mother bird almost invariably 
entered the nest at the south door, apparently just as one forms 
a habit of always sitting at the same place at table. 
