126 EYE-BEAMS 



branches parted company and the nest was 

 engulfed. 



Another sparrow friend of mine met with a 

 curious mishap the past season. It was the 

 little social sparrow, or chippie. She built her 

 nest on the arm of a grapevine in the vineyard, 

 a favorite place with chippie. It had a fine 

 canopy of leaves, and was firmly and securely 

 placed. Just above it hung a bimch of young 

 grapes, which in the warm July days grew 

 very rapidly. The little bird had not foreseen 

 the calamity that threatened her. The grapes 

 grew down into her nest and completely filled 

 it, so that when I put my hand in, there were 

 the eggs sat upon by the grapes. The bird 

 was crowded out, and had perforce abandoned 

 her nest, ejected by a bunch of grapes. How 

 long she held her ground I do not know ; prob- 

 ably till the fruit began to press heavily upon 

 her. 



IV. A POOR FOUNDATION \ 



It is a curious habit the wood-thrush has 

 of starting its nest with a fragment of news- 

 paper or other paper. Except in remote woods, 

 I think it nearly always puts a piece of paper 

 in the foundation of its nest. Last spring I 

 chanced to be sitting near a tree in which a 

 wood- thrush had concluded to build. She 

 came with a piece of paper nearly as large as 

 my hand, placed it upon the branch, stood 

 upon it a moment, and then flew down to the 

 ground. A little puff of wind caused the 



