The White-Footed Mouse ee 
was absorbed in tearing apart what at first sight I 
supposed to be the bird’s nest. So intently was he 
engaged in this task that I approached unobserved, 
and when within thirty feet of the bird I discovered 
that a white-footed mouse had placed his home on 
THE NEST OF THE WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE 
the top of the bird’s nest. The owl evidently knew 
that it was the abode of a mouse, for he was opening 
the nest by using both his beak and claws. Sud- 
denly a white-footed mouse sprang clear of the nest, 
which was not more than four and a half feet above 
the ground, and struck upon the dried leaves below. 
Instantly the screech owl dropped upon him and 
bore him away in his talons to some evergreens near by. 
