BIRDS OF PEASEMARSH 



to know that the humans in the house will back 

 her up in anything she does. 



But the Bluebird houses and the Purple 

 Martin house were a different matter, as the 

 Sparrows could go in through the entrances of 

 these. It is said that if the nest boxes are 

 placed low enough the Sparrows will leave 

 them alone. Though these houses were placed 

 at various elevations, some as low as they could 

 be for the birds for which they were intended, 

 there was hardly one within sight of the barn 

 the Sparrows could get into that they did not 

 usurp and would have held had they not been 

 driven out or shot, though in many cases they 

 had paid no attention to them until some birds 

 had selected them. Frequently even after they 

 had chosen their own nesting site they would 

 hover round a nest box they did not want, ap- 

 parently just to keep away other birds. 



Their "dog in the manger" attitude was most 

 noticeable with the Bluebirds. They tried 

 their best to drive them all away to the dangers 

 and uncertain nesting-sites of the country be- 

 yond. If a pair of Bluebirds came to examine 

 a nest-box, at once a group of Sparrows ap- 

 peared, and their quarrelsome chattering could 

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