76 DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



really a question whether or not the situation of 

 the nest is any real protection to other than 

 avian enemies. 



Not long ago an artist friend of mine, out 

 with his easel and colors, upon hearing a strange 

 bird call, had his attention drawn to a cactus 

 wren which was hovering in peculiar flight 

 above a large cholla. Interested in the unusual 

 actions of the bird, he stepped nearer to observe 

 it, and as he did so he noticed a large red racer 

 coiled among the branches of the cactus, cruelly 

 devouring the nestful of birdlings. As he rushed 

 up to the nest, the snake became frightened 

 and dropped from the shrub, leaving the last 

 little, half-dead bird on the edge of the nest, 

 its mute and bloody remains testifying to the 

 horrible tragedy that had taken place in the 

 once happy bird home. 



