138 WESTERN SERIES OF READERS. 



nests in holes in trees, or in the ground. In win- 

 ter it comes down to the valleys and mesas. They 

 love the vicinity of half-decayed logs and thick 

 undergrowth, where loose rubbish makes a good 

 feeding-ground. The eggs are five or six, mottled 

 white. They nest in April and May. 



The song of the Vigors wren is very sweet and 

 varied. On this account this bird is sometimes 

 called the mocking-wren. But it is always their 

 own songs they are singing. In winter-time they 

 are very tame, allowing one to almost touch them, 

 merely keeping at arm's-length away. This habit 

 of being so fearless in winter-time is shared by 

 many of our wrens and titmice. They are intent 

 upon getting their food. This food consisting of 

 very small insects, the bird's eye is supposed to be 

 adjusted to short focus to see these insects, and 

 are not suited to more distant and larger objects. 



The Parkman wren is another of our resident 

 birds. But it comes in sight more commonly in 

 summer than in winter. On this account it is 

 often called the summer wood-wren. It nests in 

 hollow trees, anywhere from five to forty feet 

 above the ground. As usual with the wrens, the 

 nest is built of bark and fiber and grasses, with 

 plenty of twigs for a basis, and the lining is 

 thickly made of feathers. The nest is deep, with 



