190 RIVERBY 



then pause in his demonstrations, alight in the frame 

 of the broken pane, look intently within, and after 

 a moment resume his assault upon the window. The 

 people who saw the actions of the bird were at a loss 

 how to interpret them. But I could see at once 

 what was the matter. The bird saw its image in 

 the mirror of the glass (the dark interior helped the 

 reflection) and was making war, as he supposed, 

 upon a rival. Only the unyielding glass kept him 

 from tweaking out every saucy blue feather upon the 

 spot! Then he would peep in through the vacant 

 pane and try to determine where his rival had so 

 suddenly disappeared. How it must have puzzled 

 his little poll! And he learned nothing from expe- 

 rience. Hundreds of times did he perch in the bro- 

 ken pane and sharply eye the interior. And for two 

 months there did not seem to be an hour when he 

 was not assaulting the window. He never lost faith 

 in the reality of the bird within, and he never abated 

 one jot his enmity toward him. If the glass had 

 been a rough surface he would certainly have worn 

 his beak and claws and wings to mere stubs. The 

 incident shows the pugnacious disposition of the 

 bluebird, and it shows how shallow a bird's wit 

 is when new problems or conditions confront it. I 

 have known a cock-robin to assault an imaginary 

 rival in a garret window, in the same manner, and 

 keep up the warfare for weeks. 



On still another occasion similar antics of a male 

 bluebird greatly disturbed the sleep of my hired man 

 in the early morning. The bird with its mate had 



