84 Clear Skies and Cloudy. 



building. Then, if ever, can we witness the 

 varied manifestations of all their mental quali- 

 ties. Love, fear, anger, jealousy, obstinacy, and 

 ingenuity are exhibited in quick succession, and 

 every emotion so unmistakably that there is 

 next to no danger of misinterpretation. I went 

 the rounds almost daily of forty-two birds' 

 nests during the month, and the many quaint 

 incidents I witnessed would fill a volume : pa- 

 thetic beyond my power of description where 

 an accident happened to the mate of a red- 

 start ; almost complete paralyzation through 

 fear when I attempted to photograph a nest 

 full of young ; rage that overreached itself on 

 the part of a Carolina wren I teased ; strange 

 antics ascribable only to jealousy when I placed 

 a mirror near a nest, and a catbird saw in its 

 reflected self a rival ; persistence when one 

 bird determined to retain material for a nest 

 which the other bird deemed unsuitable ; and 

 in how many ways did birds strive to overcome 

 little difficulties I placed in their way ! Happily, 

 all went well at last, and these birds and their 

 babies came to know me. So I think, but 

 others doubt it. At all events, I could do what 



