Tllli WESTERN WINTER \%i:.\. 



(liiM'piiiK hninclii's of a fir tri-c :it a liciglit nf a foot or more from the ground. 



Ill such case, the nest is riiiishc<l to the shajic of a cocoainii. witli an i-iilraucc 



hole in ilif side a little alxive the center. 



in all cases the materials used are suhslantially llie same, chielly green 



moss, witii an ahundancc of 

 / ^. fir or cedar twigs shot thru 



its walls anil foundations. 

 This shell is heavily lined 

 with very fine mosses, inter- 

 mingled with deer hair or 

 other soft suhstances; while 

 the inner lining is of feath- 

 ers, which the Sooty and the 

 Rutfed C.rousc have largely 

 contributed to the uphol- 

 stered luxury of this morlel 

 home. 



"Cocks' nests," or decoys, 

 are the faxorite diversion of 



I^^^^^^^y^^^^^^^^HH^^^^^H indefatig.'dile bird, s<^ 



^^^^^^i^^^^^^^f^^^^^^^l ac- 



tivities of four-year-olcl chil- 

 dren, one sighs to think of 

 the prodigious waste of en- 

 ergies entailed. The alxirig- 

 inal cause of this quaint in- 

 stinct, so ])revalent among 

 the Wrens, would seem to 

 be the desire to deceive and 

 discourage enemies, but in 

 the rase of the Winter Wren 

 K" is led to sus|H-ct that the 

 ird-working husband is 

 \ing to meet a ])er|K'tual 

 lallengc t<i occupy all 

 .■i\ ail.ible sites — a miser 

 hoarding op|>ortimities. 



A troop of young Wrens 

 just out <if the nest is a cun- 

 ning sight. The anxious parents counsel flight and the inorc circums|)cct of 

 the brood obev. but now and then one less sophisticated allows a little 

 pleasant talk, "blarney," to quiet his beating heart. Then a little litillation 



.\Nn liC.r.S OF WtbTKKN Wl.MI-.K WKI.N I 

 STUMP. 



(TlMf HOIOVED. AN IM'51'AL K MTIKOSITe Wlienl! C 

 1.11 KIONCII HAVE Kxr«CT«0 TO HUD OMCON CIIICKADKC. 



