62 A-BIRDING ON A BRONCO. 



sight of him, stopped short, and much to my 

 amusement concluded to sit down and preen his 

 feathers ! The pewee had one special bare twig 

 of his own that he used for a perch, and when 

 the gnat seated himself there in his neighbor's 

 absence he looked so small that I realized what a 

 mite of a bird he really was. He sometimes sat 

 there and talked while his mate moulded the nest. 



When the gnats got to brooding, many of the 

 same pretty performances were repeated that had 

 marked the first nest of all, up in the sand ditch. 

 When the bird on the nest hopped out and called, 

 " Come, come," its mate, who had been wander- 

 ing around in the sunny green treetop, called out 

 in sweet tones, " Good-by, good-by." 



When waiting for the gnats to do something, I 

 heard a little sound in the oak brush by my side, 

 and, looking through the brown branches, saw a 

 wren-tit come hopping toward me. It came up 

 within three feet of me, near enough to see its 

 bright yellow eyes. I began to wonder if it had 

 a nest near by, and felt my prejudices melting 

 away and my heart growing tender. Some thieves 

 are very honest fellows ; it is largely a difference 

 in ethical standards ! I began to feel a keen in- 

 terest in the bird and its affairs, for the wren-tit 

 was really a most original bird, and one I was 

 especially anxious to study. 



My newly awakened interest was not chilled by 

 any second tragedy ; all went well with the little 



