BIRDS OF PEASEMARSH 



average from one count made here. Multiply 

 that by the number of hours they work; they 

 start about four o'clock in the morning, and the 

 babies' supper is not over until twilight. Mul- 

 tiply again by the number of days they are 

 there and add to this what the mother and 

 father must devour. Then, later, when the 

 babies are grown and hunting for themselves 

 and the mother and father are raising a second 

 family, add what the young family must 

 catch. And if a third family be raised, 

 as is sometimes the case, if conditions have 

 been favorable and the nest has been safe, add 

 what the second family must hunt for them- 

 selves while the old birds are feeding the third 

 nestlings. One must not forget that a family 

 of Wrens consists of from four to seven or 

 eight, which makes from eight to sixteen 

 birdlings in the two families that are hunting 

 insects and eating as much as they possibly 

 can, which is an astonishing amount for their 

 size. The answer to the problem will be a long 

 array of figures, and it indicates the number of 

 insects less in the garden because Jenny Wren 

 built her nest there and was left in peace to 

 rear her family. 



[12] 



