314 THE WESTERN WINTER WREN. 
drooping branches of a fir tree at a height of a foot or more from the ground. 
In such case, the nest is finished to the shape of a cocoanut, with an entrance 
hole in the side a little above the center. 
In all cases the materials used are substantially the same, chiefly green 
moss, with an abundance of 
fir or cedar twigs shot thru 
its walls and foundations. 
This shell is heavily lined 
with very fine mosses, inter- 
mingled with deer hair -or 
other soft substances; while 
the inner lining is of feath- 
ers, which the Sooty and the 
Ruffed Grouse have largely 
contributed to the uphol- 
stered luxury of this model 
home. 
“Cocks’ nests,” or decoys, 
are the favorite diversion of 
this indefatigable bird, so 
that, as with the restless ac- 
tivities of four-year-old chil- 
dren, one sighs to think of 
the prodigious waste of en- 
ergies entailed. The aborig- 
inal cause of this quaint in- 
stinct, so prevalent among 
the Wrens, would seem to 
be the desire to deceive and 
discourage enemies, but in 
the case of the Winter Wren 
one is led to suspect that the 
hard-working husband is 
trying to meet a perpetual 
Taken near Tacoma. Photo by Dawson and Bowles. challenge to occupy all 
NEST AND EGGS OF WESTERN WINTER WREN IN available sites—a_  miser 
STUME: hoarding opportunities. 
TOP OF STUMP REMOVED. AN UNUSUAL NESTING-SITE WHERE ONE E ; 
WOULD SOONER HAVE EXPECTED TO FIND OREGON CHICKADEE. A troop of young Wrens 
just out of the nest is a cun- 
ning sight. The anxious parents counsel flight and the more circumspect of 
the brood obey, but now and then one less sophisticated allows a little 
pleasant talk, “blarney,” to quiet his beating heart. Then a little titillation 
