i84 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



A BIT OF NATURE. 



This spring a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches selected a hollow chest- 

 nut tree within reach of our piazza for a nest. I was very glad to have 

 them there because they are insectiverous, and because they have an ac- 

 tive, business-like air about them, which is very interesting. 1 was never 

 tired of watching them. 



When they decided to take the tree for a nesting place, they evidently 

 thought that the piazza went with it, for they told me plainly that I wasn't 

 wanted, whenever 1 tried to get acquainted with them. 1 succeeded at 

 last, however, and in time they took no notice of me at all. They allowed 

 me to hang a hammock within a yard of their nest, and in fact they seemed 

 to take everything in good part except English sparrows. With the num- 

 erous other birds they lived harmoniously, but if a sparrow came near that 

 precious nest, there was sure to be a fight, and that excitable little male 

 was no mean pugilist either. Once or twice 1 went to his rescue with my 

 gun and shot the invader, but the little fellow always regarded me and my 

 gun as secondary matters. He seemed to think that he had killed the 

 sparrow and could drive me away if 1 did anything which was not to his 

 liking. He never tried to, though, but contented himself with driving 

 sparrows, and the latter soon found that our grove was no place for them. 

 As soon as the sparrows were driven away, the birds began house- 

 building and it is of this that 1 wish to tell.. As the hollow in the tree was 

 too large they began to fill it up with soft, gray lichens from the nearby 

 tree-trunks. Both birds worked with a will, but there is no question but 

 what the work would have progressed faster if the pair had been longer 

 wed. They were too attentive to do much work at first, but when they 

 did settle down to work in earnest, they set a good example for some of 

 our workmen. 



When the hollow in the tree was about half filled up there came a very 

 long, cold rain, which, perhaps, my readers can remember. During this 

 rain I forgot my new neighbors for a short time, and when I did think of 

 them it was still raining. 1 wondered where the little creatures could find 

 dry material for their house when so much rain had been falling. Here it 

 was almost time for the eggs to be laid, and this pair of birds had not yet 

 finished their nest, it seemed to me that the rain had spoiled all the 

 material for at least a week. Surely this was a serieous problem for these 

 little birds, which some people claim are devoid of the power of reason. 



But when 1 stepped out onto the piazza, to my surprise 1 saw that the 

 birds were bringing load after load of dry lichens, just as though the sun 

 had been shining for a week! 1 could not think where they could find dry 

 lichens after such a rain, and at first the birds did not seem disposed to 



