A SUDDEN fluttering almost under 

 foot, and slow, reluctant flight close 

 to the ground revealed the location of a Song 

 Sparrow's nest* In open and unwarranted con- 

 fidence it was placed on the ground, though built 

 with care and compactly rounded* The five eggs 

 were carefully and regularly placed with their 

 small ends downward. They were pale, almost 

 white, with the rich brown spots crowding and 

 clustering on the larger ends as if they were freckled 

 by exposure to the sun. It seemed a tempting of the 

 fates thus to risk the depredations of thoughtless 

 boys and vagrant cats. Sometimes the Song Sparrow 

 builds near the ground in a bush, but this one had 

 risked the level surface. Three days later good 

 fortune and assiduous devotion to parental duties 

 had combined to reward the mother with three nest- 

 lings, their big, round eyes still unopened, but their 

 gaping throats revealing a misplaced confidence in 

 the bounty of intruders. On the following day there 

 was a genuine surprise. Crowding the three nestlings 

 and the two unhatched eggs was a half -fledged 

 intruder from another family. How did it get there $* 



84 



